The Tauln
by The Purple Rainbow
Summary: The Tauln is the spiritual connection to the Avatar. He or she is the who protects the Avatar and guides the Avatar spiritually. Avatar Aang's Tauln, Ka, is the daughter of Koh the Face-Stealer. When she joins the group, just what kind of trouble will she cause...and get into? Zuko X OC (First ATLA story!)
1. Ka

Chapter 1: Ka

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. I only own my OC, Ka.**

There is an old legend used to calm rowdy children down at bedtime, but everyone knows the story of the Tauln. The Avatar was the only one who could master all four elements. He or she brought balance to the world. But when the Avatar needed spiritual help, the Tauln was the one person who aided the Avatar in his journey to the Spirit World. It is said that the Tauln is the child of some kind of Spirit, usually a Spirit of one of the nations.

But once every hundred years, a Tauln is born to a lesser-known spirit and is gifted with amazing power. When the airbending Avatar was frozen in ice for 100 years, his Tauln was frozen along with him. Avatar Aang's Tauln was a young girl named Ka. She was the daughter of Koh, the Face-Stealer. Ka was the only being whose face was impossible to steal. And she was gifted with amazing beauty, perception, and majestic waterbending abilities. As Ka was frozen in time in her father's cave, the Hundred Year War raged on in the Physical World.

But then Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe discovered the Avatar, and Ka suddenly found herself moving again. "You have been frozen in time for a hundred years, my child. The Avatar has been discovered," Koh said to his daughter with the face of a man with stubby brown hair. Ka stared at him. She blinked her shimmering purple eyes a few times before nodding once. "You know what to do, right?" Koh asked. His daughter moved her fingers and shook her head. "Remind me, Father. It has been quite some time since I last been moving," Ka said. "You are Avatar Aang's Tauln. Usually the Tauln and the Avatar are the same age, but in some cases, the Tauln is older. The Avatar is 112 years old, while you, Ka, are 116. You are to aid the Avatar spiritually and in his quest to end the Hundred Year War and defeat the Fire Nation," Koh said to his beautiful daughter. Ka ran her fingers through her silky, golden hair and stared at him, expressionless. Even though she did not need to be expressionless, Ka felt no need to make a face like normal people. But she wasn't normal. Ka was a Tauln, daughter of the Face-Stealer.

Ka nodded once. "Yes, Father. May we meet again," she said. Koh smiled at his daughter. He may be the ruthless Face-Stealer, but he loved his daughter. Ka smiled back at him and hugged her father. "I love you, Father," she said. Ever since Ka was born, Koh was always protective. He taught her all that she needed to know about being a Tauln. And when she froze, Koh would not let any other Spirit touch her, or even come near her. Ka and Koh let go of each other, and Koh watched his precious child leave the Spirit World.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Ka had been searching for her Avatar for about a week now. Then she sensed the Avatar was in some kind of market. A market filled with Fire Nation soldiers. She used her waterbending abilities to glide faster on the water.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hey, you're that kid!" Katara said as she followed the Earthbender to a shop. "Why did you run away from us?" The Earthbender looked nervous. "Uh, you must have me confused with some other kid," he said. "No, she doesn't. We saw you Earthbending," Aang said as he walked in, a hat on his head. The woman and the Earthbender gasped.

The woman closed the door and the shades. "They saw you doing WHAT!?" she demanded. "They're crazy, Mom! Look at how they're dressed!" the kid said. Katara, Sokka, and Aang looked at their clothes. "You know how dangerous that is, Haru! You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending!" Haru's mother scolded. "Open up!" a voice demanded from outside. Sokka looked out the closed blinds. "Fire Nation! Act natural!" he cried.

Haru's mother opened the door and let them in. Sokka and Haru pondered upon an apple, Katara stuffed her mouth with berries, and Aang leaned casually on a barrel. But his weight on his hand was too strong and he fell. "What do you want?! I've already paid you this week!" Haru's mother asked. "Tax just doubled. We wouldn't want an accident, would we?" the Fire Nation soldier asked slyly, creating fire in his hands. They all backed up. "Fire, it's sometimes so hard to control," he said. Haru's mother sighed sadly and opened her box of money. She took out all of it and placed it in the soldier's hand. "You can keep the copper ones," he said, walking away and dropping the copper coins on the ground. Haru's mother picked them up as the soldiers closed the door.

"Nice guy. How long has the Fire Nation been here?" Sokka asked. "Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships," Haru's mother explained. "They're thugs. They steal from us. And everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it!" Haru muttered. "Quiet, Haru! Don't talk like that!" Haru's mother scolded. "But Haru is an Earthbender! He can help!" Katara protested. "Earthbending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but misery for his village! He must never use his abilities," Haru's mother said.

"How can you say that? Haru has a gift! Asking him not to Earthbend is like asking me not to Waterbend. It's a part of who we are!" Katara said, walking closer to them. "You don't understand!" Haru's mother cried. "I understand that Haru can help fight back! What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?" Katara asked. "They could take Haru away! Like they took his father!" Haru's mother replied, putting a fist to her chest. Katara looked at Haru, who turned his head away.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"My mom said you can sleep here tonight, but you should leave in the morning," Haru said, leading them to a barn. "Thanks. I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay," Aang said, gesturing towards Appa, who had a mouthful of hay. Too late.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't know about your father," Katara apologized as she and Haru took a walk. "That's okay. It's funny-the way you were talking back in the store. It reminded me of him," Haru said. "Thanks, "Katara said. "My father was very courageous. When the Fire Nation invaded, he and the other Earthbenders were outnumbered 10-to-1. But they fought back anyway," Haru explained. "He sounds like a great man," Katara complimented, smiling at him. "After the attack, they rounded up my father and every other Earthbender and took them away. We haven't seen them since," Haru continued. "So that's why you hide your Earthbending," Katara realized. "Yeah. Problem is, the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending. He taught me everything I know," Haru said, twirling two balls of rock in his hands and turning it into sand.

Katara sat next to him. "See this necklace? My mother gave it to me," she asked. "It's beautiful," Haru said. "I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her," Katara said sadly. "It's not enough, is it?" Haru asked. Katara didn't say anything for a moment. "No," she finally said.

They walked towards the mine, where an old man walked. There was an explosion, and the old man was trapped under the rocks. "The mine!" Haru cried. "Ah! Help me!" the old man cried. Katara tried to pull him free as Haru tried to block the rocks. "It's not working! We have to go get help!" Katara said. "There's no time! Pull harder!" Haru said. "Haru, there's a way you can help!" Katara cried. "I-I can't," Haru said softly. "Please! There's no around to see you! It's the only way!" Katara said. Haru thought for a moment.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ka opened the door to the barn where the Avatar was at. "Katara, whe-?" the boy in the blue Water Tribe clothes stopped mid-sentence when he saw her. She had golden hair tied in a half-ponytail, strange purple eyes, and she wore elegant Water Tribe clothing with black fingerless gloves. "Who are you!?" the boy demanded, standing up with a boomerang in his hand. Ka remained expressionless.

"Where is the Avatar?" she asked. "I'm the Avatar," another said, airbending off of Appa and landing in front of her. "Aang! What if she's Fire Nation!?" the Water Tribe boy asked harshly. "Sokka, she doesn't look Fire Nation!" Aang said. Ka bowed to Aang. "Avatar, my name is Ka. I am your Tauln," she said. Sokka widened his eyes as Aang bowed back. "I see the monks told you about Taulns," Ka said.

"They told me that my Tauln would be a waterbender, and that she would be the daughter of a lesser-known Spirit," Aang said. Sokka stared at Ka. She was so...pretty. Ka smirked at Aang. "I am the one who shall protect you. I suspect there is another one in your party, since the boy called Sokka had mistaken me for a 'Katara'?" Ka suggested. "Sokka's sister, Katara, went on a walk with an Earthbender," Aang explained. Ka nodded once and walked up to Appa. He growled and leaned away from her. "Do not be afraid, bison. I am the Avatar's Tauln," she whispered and stroked Appa's fur delicately.

"So, which 'lesser-known Spirit' is your father?" Sokka asked. "Koh, the Face-Stealer. If you ever meet him, be sure to make no expression at all, or Dad'll steal your face. It's not a pretty sight either. I've seen Dad steal the face of a beautiful woman about 104 years ago," Ka replied. "But you don't look a day over 16!" Sokka said. "When the Avatar was frozen in the ice, I was also frozen. My father protected me," Ka explained.

"'Face-Stealer'?!" Aang asked. Ka nodded. "The monks expected the Waterbending Tauln to be born to either the Moon or Ocean Spirit," Aang mumbled. "Who is that?" a voice suddenly asked. They all turned around to see a girl with similar clothes to Ka. "I am Ka, Avatar Aang's Tauln," Ka said, bowing. Katara widened her eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Yeah, Katara. She really is. I feel...connected to her somehow..." Aang said. "The Tauln is to protect the Avatar, and they are connected spiritually," Ka said.

Aang beamed at her, and Ka smirked. "So...is she going to be traveling with us?" Katara asked, taking in her whole, spiritual appearance. "Yes. If I am to protect the Avatar, then I must be with him," Ka replied. Katara noticed that she never stuttered, never breathed in the middle of her sentences, and her posture was perfect. "Are you a waterbender?" Katara asked. Ka nodded once. "I have almost mastered Waterbending. I started my training with the descendants of the Ocean and Moon Spirits when I was 3," she explained and observed the two.

"Katara, you are a very powerful waterbender. You just need to gain control of your element. Your heritage is very special. You and your brother are the great-great-great-great-great-great grandchild of Kinzue, the direct child of the Ocean and Moon Spirits themselves," Ka said. They both widened their eyes. "But if a-lotta-greats-Gramp-Gramp was a powerful waterbender, how come I can't bend?" Sokka asked, suddenly jealous of Katara's power. "Because Kinzue married the Spirit of the Colors-Panama. She was a non-bender," Ka explained.

"But how do you know all of this?" Sokka asked in disbelief. "Duh. My father told me. The Spirit World has many great teachers, too. Avatar Roku taught me how to use broadswords," Ka said, smirking at Aang. Aang laughed and smiled.

Katara shrugged and sat in her sleeping bag with a lamp. "It was so brave of Haru to use his Earthbending to save the old man," she said. Ka and Aang sat next to each other on Appa's giant leg. "I guess something you said inspired him somehow," Aang said. "I guess so," Katara agreed.

"Everyone get some sleep, we're waking up at dawn," Sokka announced. "Dawn!? Can't we sleep in for once!?" Katara complained. "Absolutely not! This place is crawling with Fire Nation troops. If they discover you guys are here, Aang and Ka, we'll be eating fireballs for breakfast!" Sokka said. "I'd rather eat fireballs than nuts," Katara said, smirking. Ka wondered what they were talking about. "Goodnight!" Sokka said firmly, turning over in his sleeping bag. They all laughed, except for Ka, who smirked. Ka didn't think she has ever laughed before. It takes a lot to get her to laugh.

Katara blew out the lantern and they all laid down. "Hey, Ka?" Aang whispered. Ka turned to face him. "If I'm the Avatar, and I'm in danger, what would you do?" he asked. "Well, if it was minor danger, then I wouldn't do anything, 'cause you'd be able to defend yourself. But in serious danger, I would go into a state of complete anger and fury and completely destroy the threat until I absolutely know that you are safe," Ka replied. "Oh. Good to know," Aang said, surprised by Ka's response and turned his back to her.

Ka smirked and turned her back to him. She thought about the future adventures she would have with her new "friends". Then she smiled. She never really had friends before. Except for Avatar Roku. He was the only one her father would let around her. He was so overprotective of Ka. She closed her shimmering purple eyes and fell asleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Katara woke up in the morning with a bowl in her hands. She walked up to the water pump and bending water out of it, placing the water inside the bowl. She picked up the bowl and saw Haru's mother staring out on the cliff. She turned around to Katara, her face wet with tears. Katara gasped softly in realization and dropped the bowl. It shattered into pieces at the ground's touch.

"They took Haru! The old man turned him in! It's all my fault! I forced him into Earthbending!" Katara cried as she rushed into the barn. "Whoa, Katara! Slow down! What happened?" Sokka asked, rushing to her side. "Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight," Katara said. "Well, it's too late now. He's long gone," Sokka said.

"No, he's not. The Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru," Katara said, turning her back to them. "And how would they do that?" Sokka asked. "Because they're going to arrest me for Earthbending," Katara replied firmly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I thought you were crazy at first, Katara, but this might actually work. There are air vents all around this place. All Aang has to do is blow a blast of air from that vent to this one. Aang, do you remember your cue?" Sokka asked. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. You're taking all the fun out of this," Aang said, blowing air currents at a butterfly in front of him. Ka crossed her arms and glared at him. He was so unfocused and childish. "By 'fun', do you mean intentionally getting captured by a group of ruthless firebenders?" Sokka asked sarcastically. "Yeah! That's fun stuff!" Aang replied, completely oblivious. Ka facepalmed and re-tied her hair into a normal ponytail.

"Here they come!" Ka called as she saw Fire Nation soldiers walk towards them. Katara and Sokka purposely walked into each other. Ka sighed. "Get out of my way, pipsqueak!" Sokka said, too loudly. "How dare you call me pipsqueak...you giant-eared cretin!" Katara yelled, also too loudly. Ka sighed. If she knew that they were this horrid at acting, then she would have been Sokka's character.

"What did you call me!?" Sokka asked. "A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things! Do herds of animals use them for shade?" Katara asked, putting her hands over her ears. "You better back off! Seriously, back off..." Sokka said, getting in her face. "I will not back off! I'll bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!" Katara cried. "That's it! You're going down!" Sokka said, pointing at her. "I'll show you whose boss, EARTHBENDING STYLE!" She got into a stance in front of the rock, but nothing happened. "I said, EARTHBENDING STYLE!" Katara yelled firmly. Ka smacked Aang upside the head, and he blasted air into the vent.

The rock rose and Momo happened to be standing behind it, licking under his arms. The guards looked at Momo in amazement. "That lemur, he's earthbending!" one cried. Ka facepalmed again. "No, you idiot, it's the girl!" Sokka cried, gesturing towards Katara. "Oh...of course..." the guard said, blushing from embarrassment. "I'll hold her!" Sokka announced, grabbing her shoulders. "You have twelve hours to find Haru. We'll be right behind you," Sokka whispered in her ear. Katara nodded once.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Aang, Ka, and Sokka all looked up from straw hats to see Katara in a burlap dress and in a wagon. She was being pulled into a metal ship, which was most likely going to some kind of prison. "So, are we taking Appa or what?" Ka asked. "He's the only thing we got, so...yeah," Sokka said. They jumped on him and flew away. Ka smiled as Appa took off. She had never really flown before.

Aang got a nervous look as they flew over the metal prison where Katara and Haru were at. Ka smirked. He totally liked her. "She'll be fine, Aang. Katara knows what she's doing," Sokka said, putting a hand on Aang's shoulder. Ka looked at the prison, total disgust on her face. "Ka?" Sokka asked, noticing her expression.

"The Fire Nation, ugh, they're terrible! Except for Roku, they have no respect for anything! It's like they don't even care what gets harmed in their path to power! Putting the mighty and powerful Earthbenders in a metal prison where they can't bend at all...it's all so...maddening! It must be terrible not being able to bend when you know you can!" Ka cried out in frustration. This time, Aang put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

Ka sighed and put on an expressionless face. "I apologize for my outburst. The Fire Nation's actions disgrace the human race," she said simply. Sokka and Aang nodded in agreement and they flew away.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that night, Aang shook Katara awake. She gasped. "Shh," Aang said, putting a finger to his lips. She and Aang ran to the edge of the metal prison. "Your twelve hours are up. Where's Haru?" Sokka asked. Aang jumped on Appa. "Come on!" Sokka said. "Katara, what's wrong?" Aang asked. "I'm not leaving. I'm not giving up on these people," Katara said, her blue eyes glistening in the moonlight.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They made a plan similar to the one back at the village. Aang had closed all the vents except for the one that ran up back towards the one Sokka, Katara, and Ka stood by. The coal would lead back up towards the Earthbenders, and they could fight back against the Fire Nation.

"There are the intruders!" the guards yelled, pointing their spears at them. They got into fighting stances. "Katara, stop! You can't win this fight!" said a man with white hair, obviously Haru's father. Katara and Haru stared at each other. "Listen to him well, child. You are one mistake away from dying where you stand," said the warden, walking up towards them. Suddenly, the coal exploded through the vent. Aang jumped out, covered in soot, and coughed. "Here's your chance, Earthbenders! Take it! Your fate rests in your own hands!" Katara yelled, grabbing a piece of coal in her hands.

Haru started to take a step forward, but his father blocked him with his arm. The others took steps back in fear. The warden laughed evilly. "Foolish girl! You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would bring up these people. Look at their sad, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago. They're a waste of your energy, little girl. You failed," the warden said as Katara's expression saddened and she looked at the ground hopelessly.

The warden began to walk away, but Haru hit him with a piece of coal. The warden looked back angrily as Haru spun two pieces of coal in his hands. The warden blasted fire at him, but Haru's father blocked it with a wall of coal. The fire smoked against the coal and sizzled. The Earthbenders shouted a battle cry as they began to fight the Firebenders.

Ka used water from the ocean to blow some of the soldiers into the waters. She smirked, but gasped as a large fireball rushed towards her from behind. Aang quickly blocked it with Airbending. Ka and Aang smiled at each other. Haru's father Earthbended a large amount of coal and threw it at the firebenders, knocking them down.

Sokka cut off the soldiers' spears and threw them up at Momo. Haru and his father both Earthbended a large amount of coal into one ball and hurled it at the exit. More guards fell from the explosion. "Get to the ship! We'll hold them off!" Haru's father cried. The prisoners ran towards the ships. "Do not let them escape!" the warden ordered as they blew fire at them.

Aang created a whirlwind of air. "Guys, throw me some coal!" he yelled. Katara, Sokka, and Ka threw coal into the whirlwind of air and he blasted it at the soldiers and the warden. Haru's father bended the coal under them and hung them over the ocean. "No, please! I can't swim!" the warden said fearfully. Ka smirked with pride as he let the coal and the warden drop into the ocean. "Don't worry, I hear cowards float."

"I want to thank you for saving me. For saving us," Haru said as they went on the ship. "All it took was a little coal," Katara said, rubbing the back of her neck. "No, it was you, Katara," Haru said. Katara blushed. "Thank you for helping me find my courage, Katara of the Water Tribe. My family and everyone here owes you much," Haru's father thanked.

"So, I guess you're going home now," Katara said. "Yes. To take back my village. To take back all of our villages! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our lands!" Haru's father announced, raising a fist in the air. "Come with us," Haru said. "I can't. Your mission is to take back your home. Ours is to take Aang and Ka to the North Pole," Katara said. "That's them, isn't it? The Avatar and his Tauln?" Haru asked as Aang airbended a piece of coal in front of Momo. He jumped in his lap and Aang laughed. Ka smirked and rubbed Momo's head.

"Katara, thank you for bringing my father back to me. I never thought I'd see him again. I only wish there was some way..." Haru said. "I know..." Katara said, reaching for her mother's necklace. But it wasn't there. "My mother's necklace! It's gone!" she cried, looking all over her body.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Zuko picked up a blue necklace from underneath a pile of coal. He observed it then looked out into the ocean. He knew it was that Water Tribe girl's necklace. The one the Avatar had been traveling with. The warden of the metal prison said that there was another girl with him. A 16-year old Tauln with golden hair and purple eyes. Zuko narrowed his eyes.

It wasn't just the Avatar he was searching for anymore.


	2. The Winter Solstice-Part 1

Chapter 2: The Winter Solstice Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. I only own my OC, Ka.**

Appa flew over a bunch of fluffy clouds. "Those clouds look so soft, don't they? Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft, cotton heap?" Katara asked, gazing down at the clouds. Ka shrugged. "Maybe you should give it a try," Sokka said. "You're hilarious," Katara said sarcastically. "I'll try it!" Aang cried, grabbing his staff and jumping down. Ka, Sokka, and Katara all looked down as Aang went straight through the cloud.

He landed back on Appa behind the three. "Turns out, clouds are made of water," he said. He put his fist against his palm and dried himself off with airbending. They all looked at him. "Hey, what's that?" Ka asked, pointing towards a charred part of a forest. "It's like a scar..." Sokka said.

They landed down and walked through. "Listen. It's so quiet. There's no life anywhere," Sokka said. "Aang, are you alright?" Ka asked. Sokka observed some footprints. Fire Nation footprints. "Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick! Like Ka said before, they have no respect for-!" Katara cut him off by shushing him. "What? I'm not allowed to be angry?" Sokka asked angrily. Katara pointed towards Aang, who dropped to his knees.

Ka rushed to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. Aang scooped up some of the burnt ground and let it fall out of his hands. "Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?" he asked dejectedly. "You didn't let this happen, Aang. It has nothing to do with you," Katara said. "Yes, it does! It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But I don't know how to do my job..." Aang said. "That's why we're going to the North Pole. To find you a teacher!" Katara said.

"A Waterbending teacher. But there's no one to teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku could help me," Aang said. "Avatar Roku? He died over a hundred years ago. How are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka asked, causing Ka to shoot him a death glare. "I don't know," Aang said. Momo jumped in Aang's lap, and Aang stroked him sadly.

Katara walked up to Aang. "Hey, Aang. You ready to be cheered up?" she asked. "No," Aang said. Katara threw an acorn at his head, causing Aang to cry out. "Hey, how is that cheering me up?" he asked. Sokka laughed. "Cheered me up!" he said. Ka threw an acorn at him. "Ow! Yeah, I probably deserved that..." he said, rubbing his face. "These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back! Every one of these will be a tall, oak tree someday. And all the birds and animals that lived here will come back!" Katara said, putting the acorn in Aang's hand and closing it.

Aang looked at his fist. "Thanks, Katara!" Aang said. Katara smiled at him, but gasped when she saw a figure with a cane walked up to them. "Hey, who are you?" Sokka asked, standing up. "When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible! But...those markings! Are you the Avatar, child?" the man asked. Aang looked at Ka for approval, and she nodded firmly. Aang smiled and nodded at the man. "You must be the Tauln! My village desperately needs your help!" the man said.

He led them to his village, which was almost completely destroyed. The man brought them to the biggest building, where everyone in the village was in. "This young person is the Avatar, and this is his Tauln," the man announced to the others. "So the rumours of your return are true. It is an honor to be in your presence, Avatar, Tauln," another man with brown hair said, bowing to them. Ka bowed to the brown-haired man. "Nice to meet you too," Aang said.

"So, is there something we can help you with?" Aang asked. "I'm not sure..." the brown-haired man said. "They are our only hope," the old man said, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder. "For the last few days, at sunset, a Spirit comes and attacks our village. He is Hei Bai, the Black-And-White Spirit," the old man explained. Ka's eyes widened.

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asked. "We're not sure. For the past three days, he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the Winter Solstice draws near," the brown-haired man said. "What happens then?" Katara asked. "As the Solstice approaches, the line between the Spirit World and the physical world comes closer and closer, until it is buried completely," Ka explained.

"Yes. Hei Bai has already caused enough destruction. Who knows what kind of damage he will unleash on the solstice?" the brown-haired man said, sadness filling is voice. "So...what do you want us to do?" Aang asked. "Who better to solve a Spirit problem than the Avatar and the Tauln themselves? You two are the great bridge between the two worlds!" the old man said. "Right, that's us..." Aang said unsurely. Ka narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, Great Bridge People, can I talk to you guys for a second?" Katara asked. Aang and Ka walked over to them. "Aang, you seem a little unsure about all this," Katara said. "Yeah, maybe it's because I don't know anything at all about the Spirit World!" They all looked at him. "It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!" Aang protested. Then they looked at Ka. "Don't expect me to know everything about the Spirit World. I spent my childhood in a dark cave with the Face-Stealer!" she said, crossing her arms. "But I will help you, Aang. It's the Tauln's duty to help the Avatar spiritually."

"Are you gonna do it?" Katara asked. "We have to try," Aang said. They then walked outside of the large building and looked around. "Hello? Spirit? This is the Avatar and the Tauln speaking! We're here to try and help stuff!" Aang called. Ka looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "It's not exactly sunset yet," she whispered. "Hello?" Aang said, not hearing his Tauln. "Well, Spirit, I hereby ask you to leave this village in peace!" Aang said, plunging his staff on the ground. "Um...okay? I guess that's settled then," Aang said. Ka and Aang started to walk back towards the building.

The Hei Bai Spirit appeared behind them and followed them. Aang and Ka turned around. "You must be the Hei Bai Spirit! My name is-" The Hei Bai Spirit interrupted him by screeching a blast of blinding blue light at him. Then, Hei Bai began to destroy more of the homes. "Wait! My name is Aang! I'm the Avatar, and I would like to help!" Aang cried, following the Spirit. "Spirit Hei Bai, my name is Ka, daughter of Koh. I am the Tauln. I suggest that we can work our problems out. What has the village done to anger you?" Ka asked calmly. Hei Bai ignored her. "Would you stop destroying things and listen!?" Aang cried.

"Spirit? Would you please turn around? I command you to turn around now!" Aang ordered. Hei Bai hit Aang, causing him to land against the roof. Sokka ran out and said, "Hei Bai, over here!" He threw his boomerang at him. "Sokka, go back!" Aang cried. "We'll fight him together, guys!" Sokka said. "I don't wanna fight him unless I-" Aang was cut off when Hei Bai grabbed Sokka and ran off. "Jump on!" Aang yelled to Ka. She jumped on the top of his staff and they flew after Sokka.

"Aang! Ka! Over here!" Sokka called. "Sokka!" Aang yelled. "Help!" Sokka cried, reaching his hand out. Aang stretched his arm to him, but he disappeared. Aang and Ka ran into the pole and were knocked out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Sokka!" Aang yelled as he sat up. Ka sat up beside him. "We failed..." she whispered softly. The two walked beside each other back towards the village. "Katara. Katara, we lost him," Aang said sadly. "I'm sure they'll be back soon," the old man said. "What!? No! We're right here!" Aang waved his hand in front of the man until he realized that his hand was blue. His whole body was blue. So was Ka. He gasped. "We're in the Spirit World!' he exclaimed.

"Oh, no. Not again," Ka muttered. "I'll figure this out, Katara. Like they said, we're the bridge between the two worlds. All we have to do is...figure out what we have to do! But once we do that, no problem!" Aang said as they sat next to Katara. Appa growled and walked up. "Appa! Hey, buddy, I'm right here!" Aang said, waving. Appa didn't respond to him.

"I guess you can't see us either…" Aang said sadly. Ka sighed. Appa blew Katara with air, waking her up. Katara pet his nose. "Don't worry, Appa. I'm sure they'll be back soon. I'll bet they even found you a bunch of moon peaches, for a treat!" Katara said, walking away with Appa.

Aang sighed. There was a light up ahead. "Sokka?" he asked hopefully. It was a dragon. Ka recognized it as Avatar Roku's dragon, Fang. "That's definitely _not_ Sokka!" Aang cried, trying to get on his staff and fly away. "What?" he asked. Aang tried to airbend. "What!? I can't airbend in the Spirit World!" he realized.

The dragon continued to come towards him. "You don't know where Sokka is, do you?" Aang asked as it landed in front of the two and put his tentacle-thing-whatever-the-heck-it-is on Aang's forehead. _Avatar Roku rode on the back of his dragon, Fang…_

"You're Avatar Roku's animal guide! Like Appa is to me! I need to save my friend and I don't know how! Is there some way for me to talk to Roku?" Aang asked. Fang put his belly on the ground to let Aang and Ka sit on his back. "I'll be back, Katara. Take us to Roku!" Aang said after he sat down.

Ka smiled when he took off. She saw General Iroh in chains as they flew past. It seemed like he could see them. But it was impossible, right?

Fang flew to an island shaped like a crescent and into a temple. "Hey, what are you doing!?" Aang cried as they flew towards a ceiling. He yelled out as they went straight threw it. "This is just a statue of Roku," Aang said when they jumped off. Fang put his tentacle-thing on their foreheads again. _A flaming comet rushed past the world…_

"Is that what Roku wants to talk to us about? A comet? But when can we talk to him?" Aang asked. Fang lowered his head to reveal a light. Fang put his tentacle-thing on both of their heads once more. _The sun set and the moon rose repeatedly. The light near Roku's head drew closer and closer to his eyes…_

"It's a calendar! And the light will reach Roku on the solstice!" Aang realized. "So that's when I'll be able to talk to Roku?"

Fang grunted in response. "But I can't wait that long! I need to save Sokka now!" Aang cried. Ka and Aang jumped on his back again and they flew towards the charred forest. Aang's expression changed from determined to fearful when they flew directly into a pole carved into a panda. Aang and Ka were meditating on top of it. When Fang ran into it, Aang and Ka opened their eyes. They were back in the Physical World.

Ka and Aang stared at the panda and rushed back to the village. Ka jumped on his glider, holding onto Aang. "You're back!" Katara cried, embracing both of them when they returned. "Where's Sokka?" she asked hopefully. Aang put his head down. "I'm not sure…" he mumbled.

The two waited for Hei Bai at the entrance. They jumped when Hei Bai destroyed a home beside them. Aang airbended a sphere to block the damage. Aang and Ka jumped on the roof and each put a hand on his forehead. They could see a panda in his place. Hei Bai growled. "I understand now. You're the Spirit of this forest. You're upset and angry that your home was burned down. When I saw the forest, I was upset too. But my friends helped me realize that the forest will grow back!" Aang said.

Ka put down an acorn on the ground and smirked at the Spirit. Hei Bai picked it up and transformed into a panda. He walked out of the village, bamboo growing at the entrance. The missing people emerged from it. "Sokka!" Katara rushed over to her brother. "What happened?" he asked. "You were trapped in the Spirit World for twenty-four hours! How do you feel?" Katara asked. "Like I seriously need to use the bathroom," Sokka said, walking away.

"Thank you, Avatar and Tauln. If only there were a way to repay you for what you've done," the brown-haired man said. "You could give us some supplies…and some money," Sokka suggested. Katara elbowed him and crossed her arms, saying, "Sokka!"

"What? We need stuff!" he said. "It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey," the man bowed.

"I'm so proud of you two! You guys figured out what to do all on your own!" Katara said. "Well, we did have some help," Aang said. Ka smiled. "And there's something else…" Aang remembered the comet. "What is it?" Katara asked.

"I need to talk to Roku. And I think I found a way to contact his Spirit!" Aang said. "That's great!" Katara said. "Creepy, but great!" Sokka agreed. "His temple is on a crescent-shaped island. And if I go there on the solstice, I'll be able to speak with him," Aang explained. "But the solstice is tomorrow!" Katara cried.

"Yeah, and there's another thing. The island is in the Fire Nation!" Aang said. Katara and Sokka gasped. Ka smirked. "This is going to be very interesting…" she mumbled to herself.


	3. The Winter Solstice-Part 2

Chapter 3: The Winter Solstice Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. I only own my OC, Ka.**

"Come on, Appa! Let's go!" Aang cried, pulling on his reins. He grunted his response. "I'm sorry, boy, but Katara and Sokka aren't coming with us! If something happened to them, I'd never forgive myself…SO GET YOUR BIG BUTT OFF THE GROUND AND LET'S GO!" Aang demanded.

"I think his big butt is trying to tell you something," Sokka said, crossing his arms. "Please don't go, Aang. The world can't afford to lose you two to the Fire Nation. Neither can I!" Katara said. Aang looked over at Ka. "But we have to talk to Roku and find out what our vision means! We need to get to the Fire Nation when the sun sets on the solstice! That's today!" Aang said, jumping on Appa.

"We're not letting you go in that Fire Nation, Aang and Ka," Katara said, jumping in front of them. "At least, not without your friends. We got your backs!" Sokka said. Ka and Aang smiled at each other. Appa licked Sokka, causing him to cry out in disgust.

"It's a long way to the Crescent Island. You'll have to fly fast if you'll have any chance of making it before sunset. Good luck," the man said. "Thank you for your-!" Aang tried to say.

"GO!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sokka, Katara, and Ka looked down at the ocean as they raced towards the Fire Nation. "Come on, boy, we got a long way to go! Faster!" Aang cried. Appa grunted and went faster.

"Aang, we got trouble!" Katara cried. "Yeah, and it's gaining fast!" Sokka said. "Who's that!?" Ka asked. "Prince Zuko! He chases us around _everywhere_!" Aang replied. Ka looked at him. She could see a figure in Fire Nation armor with a scar on his left eye. It kind of looked pretty cool.

She could see a catapult rise from below deck. An old man fanned his face and said something in disgust. The Fire Nation Prince set it on fire and raised his arm. He put it down, and the flaming ball rushed towards them. "Fireball!" Katara cried. "I'm on it!" Aang said, yanking Aang's reins to the side. Appa dodged the ball by a hair.

"We need to get out of Zuko's ranks, before he shoots another hot stinker at us!" Katara cried. They all plugged their noses. "Can't you make Appa go any faster!?" Sokka asked. "Yeah, but there's just one little problem!" Aang cried. "A blockade…" Ka whispered.

There were Fire Nation ships sailing in formation. "If we fly north, we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade! It's the only way," Aang said. "There's no time!" Ka said. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to come! It's too dangerous!" Aang said. "And that's exactly why we're here!" Katara said. "Let's run this blockade!" Sokka cried triumphantly.

"Appa, yip-yip!" Aang said. Appa went faster. More fireballs began to come towards them. They all screamed. Aang frantically jerked on the reins to make Appa dodge the fireballs. Two of them exploded against each other in front of Appa, and his fur was on fire. Ka quickly put out the flames with her water pouch.

"Appa, are you okay!?" Aang asked. Appa grunted his response. Aang pulled on the reins to make Appa fly higher into the clouds. Even more fireballs erupted through the crowds. Aang barely dodged one.

Sokka fell off Appa, and Katara and Ka reached for him. He screamed and disappeared. "SOKKA!" Aang cried and turned Appa around. They went after Sokka, who was hurdling towards the ocean. Ka and Katara caught him. They were so close to the ocean that Appa's feet glided across and a fish jumped on Sokka's face. Momo jumped up and caught the fish.

They dodged more fireballs. There was one more coming straight towards them. Aang jumped into the air and blasted an airbending kick at it, causing it to explode. Aang frantically moved his arms in mid-air and fell back towards Appa. Ka and Sokka held his arms.

Then they finally made it through the blockade. "We made it!" Aang cried. "We got into the Fire Nation…Great…" Sokka said. Ka smirked.

As they flew, Appa grew slower and tired. Aang looked up. "There it is! The island where Roku's dragon took us!" he cried out. Ka looked up.

When they landed, Sokka stretched as Appa lay on the ground. "You did it, buddy! Nice flying," Aang said, hugging his head. Katara rubbed his belly. "Aw, you must be tired!" she said. "No! I'm good! Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders!" Sokka said. "I was talking to Appa," Katara said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, I was talking to Momo!" Sokka protested, pointing to the lemur who hung on a tree. The four walked up the path to the entrance to the temple. "I don't see any guards," Sokka said. "The Fire Nation abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died," Ka said.

"It's almost sundown! We gotta hurry!" Aang said, running in with the others. They ran through the halls until they reached a large room, where the four tiptoed quietly. "Wait, I think I hear something…" Sokka said.

They turned around to see five Fire Sages. "We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar…." One said menacingly. "Great! I am the Avatar! And my Tauln!" Aang said. "We know," he said, blowing fire at them.

Aang blocked the fire blasts with his bending. "I'll hold 'em off! Run!" Aang said to the others. Katara and Sokka ran away, but Ka stayed with Aang. He kicked a blast of air at them, causing them to fall down. Ka followed Aang as he ran.

"Follow me!" Aang cried, jumping in front of Sokka and Katara. "Do you know where you're going!?" Sokka asked. "Nope!" Aang replied, turning down a hall.

Then he ran back past them. "Wrong way!" he yelled. Katara and Sokka ran as Ka followed Aang. "Come back!" yelled a Fire Sage. They ran down a hall, but it was a dead end. "I don't want to hurt you. I am a friend," the Fire Sage said to them. The four got into a fighting stance.

"Firebenders aren't our friends," Sokka said. The Fire Sage introduced himself as Shiyu and bowed. "I know why you're here, Avatar and his Tauln," he said. "You do?" Aang asked in surprise. "Yes, you wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him," Shiyu replied.

"How?" Aang asked. The Fire Sage moved a lantern to the side, revealing a hole. He blasted fire into it and it opened. "This way," he said. Aang, Katara, Ka, and Sokka stared at him. "Find him!" the other Fire Sage said. "Time is running out! Quickly!" Shiyu cried. The four nodded at each other and they walked inside. The door automatically closed.

"Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages from the magma," Shiyu explained as they walked through. "Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked. "No, but my grandfather did. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all had a strong spiritual connection to this place," Shiyu said. Ka and Aang looked at each other.

"Is that how you knew we were coming?" Aang asked. "A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku; its eyes began to glow!" Shiyu replied. "That's when we were at the Air Temple! Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there, too!" Katara said.

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world," Shiyu said. "But if this is the Avatar's temple, why did the Sages attack me?" Aang asked. "Things have changed. In the past, the Fire Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the Sages eagerly waited for the next Avatar and his Tauln to return. But they never came," Shiyu said.

"They were waiting for us…" Aang said. "Hey, don't feel bad, guys! You two are only a hundred years late!" Sokka said, putting a hand on their shoulders.

"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozin began the war, my grandfather and the other Sages were forced to follow him. I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I knew you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other Sages," Shiyu said.

Aang and Ka smiled at him. "Thank you for helping us," Ka said. "We will follow these stairs to the sanctuary. When you are inside, wait until the light hits Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you two be able to speak with him," Shiyu explained.

They finally got into the room. "Oh, no!" Aang looked at the Fire Sage. "What is it, Shiyu?" he asked. "The sanctuary doors, they're closed!" Shiyu replied. "Can't you just open it with firebending? Like you opened that other door?" Katara asked as Aang tried to open the door by pulling it.

"Only a fully-realized Avatar is powerful enough to open these doors alone, otherwise, the Fire Sages must open it together with five simultaneous fire blasts," Ka replied. "Five fire blasts, huh? I think I can help you out!" Sokka said, a lamp conveniently lighting up above him.

"This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shiyu lights the oil-soaked twine, and—_ta da!_—faking firebending!" Sokka said.

"You've really outdone yourself, Sokka," Katara said. "This might actually work," Shiyu said. Sokka put each of the animal skin casings inside the lion's mouths. "The Sages will hear the explosion, so once it goes off, you two rush in!" Shiyu said.

Sokka ran behind his sister and plugged his ears. "It's almost sunset. Are you ready?" Katara asked. "Definitely," Aang and Ka said in unison.

Shiyu lit each of the twines and ran behind Aang and Ka. Sokka whimpered and hid behind his sister's dress. Once it exploded, Ka and Aang rushed up and tried to open it. "They're still locked!" Aang called. Shiyu sighed. "It didn't work…" he said.

Aang angrily blew waves of air at the door. "WHY…WON'T…IT…OPEN!?" He asked. "Aang! Stop! There's nothing we can do," Ka ordered, grabbing his arms. "I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing," Aang said.

"I don't understand. That blast was as powerful as any firebending I've ever seen!" Sokka said, running his finger over the scorch marks. "Sokka, you're a genius!" Katara cried. "Wait, how is Sokka a genius? His plan didn't even work!" Aang questioned. "Come on, Aang, let her dream!" Sokka smugly crossed his arms. "You're right! Sokka's plan didn't work, but it looks like it did!" Katara said, putting her hands on her hips. "Did the definition of 'genius' change in the last hundred years?" Aang asked.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Come quickly! The Avatar and the Tauln has entered the sanctuary!" Shiyu cried, bringing the other Sages to the door. "How did they get in!?" the oldest Sage asked. "I don't know, but look at the scorch marks! And down there!" Shiyu pointed to a shadow on the bottom of the door.

"They're inside! Open the doors immediately! Before they contact Avatar Roku!" the oldest one said. They all blew fire into the lions' mouths, and the doors opened to reveal Momo.

"It's the Avatar's lemur! He must have crawled through the pipes. We've been tricked!" the oldest one realized. Momo jumped on his head. Katara and Sokka grabbed the other two, and Shiyu grabbed the last one.

"Now, Aang, Ka!" Shiyu said. "Aang, Ka, now's your chance!" Katara called. Aang and Ka struggled against Prince Zuko's strong grip. "The Avatar and his Tauln are coming with me!" he said.

Ka growled. The Sages grabbed their attackers. "Close the doors, quickly!" Zuko ordered, dragging them down the stairs. Ka felt his hot breath trail down her neck, causing her to blush. Aang grabbed Ka's wrist and threw Zuko down the stairs. He yelled as he hit the ground. Katara and Sokka were chained to the pole.

Aang and Ka ran towards them, but Katara said to go to the sanctuary. They jumped in just in time. There was a blinding blue light.

Aang and Ka stared at the statue. "The light hits the statue, and we talk to Roku. So why isn't anything happening?" Aang asked. "Be patient, Avatar," Ka said to Aang.

"I don't know what I'm doing! All I know is airbending! Please, Avatar Roku, talk to us!" Aang cried. Roku's eyes began to glow and Aang and Ka were whisked away to the top of a mountain with Roku in front of them.

"It's good to see you two. What took you so long?" Roku asked, smiling. Aang and Ka smiled back at him and bowed. "I have something very important to tell you two. That is why, when you were in the Spirit World, I sent my dragon to find you," Roku said. "Is it about that vision? The one with the comet?" Aang asked.

"Yes," Roku replied. "What does it mean?" Ka asked. "One hundred years ago, Fire Lord Sozin used that comet to begin the war. He and his firebending army harnessed its power and unleashed a deadly first strike against the other nations," Roku explained. "So the comet made them stronger?" Aang asked. "Yes, stronger than you can even imagine," Roku said.

"But that was a hundred years ago. What does the comet have to do with anything now?" Aang asked. "Listen carefully. Sozin's Comet will return by the end of the summer, and Fire Lord Ozai will use its power to finish the war once and for all," Roku explained. Ka widened her eyes.

"If he succeeds, even the Avatar and his Tauln won't be able to restore balance to the world. Aang, Ka, you must defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives," Roku said. "But I haven't even started learning waterbending! Not to mention earth and fire!" Aang said. "Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice. But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end," Roku said. This time, Aang widened his eyes.

"But what if I can't master all the elements in time!? What if I fail!?" Aang asked. "I know you can do it, Aang. For you have done it before," Roku said. Aang smiled. "You can master all the elements too, Ka. You just need to try," Roku said to Ka. She gasped softly.

"The solstice is ending. We must go our separate ways…for now," Roku said. "But I won't be able to come back to the temple! What if I have questions?" Aang asked. "I am a part of you. When you need to speak with me, you will find a way," Roku said.

Aang, Roku, and Ka all closed their eyes. "A great danger awaits you two at the temple. I can help you two face the threat, but only if you are ready," Roku said. Aang and Ka opened their eyes, which were bright blue. "We're ready," they said in unison.

The door began to open, and the blinding light shone again. "NO! AANG! KA!" Katara cried. "FIRE!" shouted a voice. The firebenders shot fire into the sanctuary, but it just circled around them, revealing Avatar Roku.

Zhao gasped softly. "Avatar Roku…" Shiyu said. Roku blew back the fire towards all of them, causing the firebenders to be blown back and the chains to melt. Zuko broke free of his and ran out of the temple. The Sages ran away. "Avatar Roku will destroy the temple! We have to get out of here!" Shiyu cried.

"Not without Aang and Ka!" Katara said. Roku cut a hole in temple and raised magma from it. The lava exploded from the top. Roku breathed out and disappeared, revealing Aang and Ka. Katara grabbed Aang while Sokka grabbed Ka.

"Thanks…Where's Shiyu?" Aang asked. "We don't know," Katara replied. The temple began to melt, and it started to fall apart. Appa and Momo rushed towards them and picked them up. Momo wore the oldest Sage's hat. Aang and Ka stared back at the melting temple.

The moon was full. Katara and Sokka embraced them in a group hug. Ka smiled and hugged them back. _I can't believe I can master all four elements, too! I thought it was only the Avatar…_Ka thought and sighed.


	4. The Waterbending Scroll

Chapter 4: The Waterbending Scroll

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. I only own my OC, Ka.**

As Appa flew through the mountains, Aang paced back and forth on his saddle. "Would you sit down!? If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off! What's bugging you, anyway?" Sokka asked. "It's what Avatar Roku said! I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives!" Aang cried.

"Well, let's see. You've pretty much mastered Airbending and that only took you 112 years. I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer," Sokka said, smirking. Ka glared at him. "I haven't even started waterbending, and we're still weeks away from the North Pole! What am I gonna do!?" Aang asked frantically. Katara grabbed his arm.

"Calm down! If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know!" Katara said. "Me too," Ka said. "You'd do that?!" Aang asked happily. The two girls nodded in unison. "Great! Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in!" Sokka said sarcastically.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Nice puddle," Sokka muttered as they gazed at a waterfall and a beautiful river in awe. Appa jumped in the water. Aang removed his shirt and pants. "Woo! Don't start without me, boy!" he cried. "Remember the reason we're here," Ka said. "Oh, right. Time to practice waterbending," Aang said, putting on his pants.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sokka asked. Aang picked up a branch with leaves on the end. "You could…clean the gunk out of Appa's toes!" he suggested. "So, while you three are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work, picking mud out of a giant bison's feet?" Sokka asked.

"Mud and bugs."

"…Okay!" Sokka said, grabbing the branch and walking towards Appa. As he cleaned in between, Appa growled happily.

"Yeah, don't get too happy. You have to do me next," Sokka muttered. Ka smiled. "This is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect. So don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away. Just push and pull the water like this! The key is to get the right wrist movement going!" Katara explained, bending the water back and forth.

"Like this?" Aang asked, mimicking her. "That's almost right! If you keep practicing, I'm sure eventually-!" Aang interrupted her by saying, "Hey, I'm bending it already!"

"Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly. It took me two months to learn that move," Katara muttered. "Well, you had to figure it out on your own. I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher," Aang said. Katara smiled. "Thanks," she said.

"So, what's next?" Aang asked. "This is a more difficult move. I call it 'Streaming the Water'," Katara replied. She waved a stream of water around as she said, "It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if-!"

But Aang already had it. He played around with it as Katara dropped hers, annoyed, back in the water. Aang bended the stream back in the water. "Nice work. Though the over-the-head flair was unnecessary…" Katara said. "Sorry. Well, don't stop now! Keep 'em comin'!" Aang said excitedly.

"Well, I kinda know this one other move. But it's pretty hard. I haven't even totally figured it out yet…The idea is to create a big, powerful wave," Katara said, moving her arms up and trying to get the water to rise. When it failed, she sighed. Aang raised his arms up without even trying while saying, "So…like this?" The wave rose extremely high.

"Aang…!" Sokka said as the wave crashed down on him, Appa, and Ka. Ka shook her head and removed her ribbon that kept her hair up. She sighed and wrung out her soaked hair then waterbended the water out of her clothes.

"Looks like I got the hang of that move! What else you got?" Aang asked, smiling. "That's enough practicing for today…" Katara muttered. "Yeah, I'll say! You just '_practiced_" our supplies down the river!" Sokka cried.

"Uh…sorry. I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace all this stuff," Aang said. "It was hard enough when you were just an airbender…" Sokka muttered, going under the water in annoyance.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The four eventually found a market, but it wasn't what they expected. "No, please! Put me down!" cried a man to a mugger. "What's in this bag!? Who's brave enough to look into this bag!?" asked a merchant with a small blue bag in his hands. Katara and Sokka looked around in disgust, while Aang and Ka smiled brightly.

When Sokka walked out of a store with Ka, he said, "We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us. Let's spend it wisely." Aang put his hands behind his back. "Uh…make that two copper pieces, Sokka. I couldn't say no to this whistle!" he said, pulling out a bison whistle. He blew it, and Sokka plugged his ears.

"It doesn't even work!" Sokka cried. Momo cried out to Aang as his look saddened. "See, even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk!" Sokka said. "No offense, Aang, but I'll hold onto the money from now on," Katara said, holding her open hand out. Aang frowned and placed the copper pieces in her hand. She smiled at him.

They walked closer to the docks as a man in green stood outside a large ship, advertising his shop. "Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your _inclination_, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!" he said. He saw Ka, Aang, Sokka, and Katara walk by, but they ignored him.

"Oh! You there! I can see from your clothing that you're world-traveling types! Can I interest you in some exotic curios!?" he asked. "Sure!" Aang said excitedly then asked, "What are curios?"

"I'm not entirely sure! But we've got 'em!" the man in green said, wrapping an arm around Aang and leading him inside. They looked around at all the strange items on the ship. Katara stared at a weird-looking money statue with red jewels for eyes.

"I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur! That beast would catch me a hefty sum if you'd be…interested in bargaining…" a man with a reptile bird on his shoulder. Aang held Momo close to him. "Momo's not for sale!" he cried. "What about the girl?" the reptile-bird man said, carefully handling a lock of Ka's golden hair and stroking it. "A girl with this kind of hair would set me for life!" he said.

Ka turned around and glared at him. "My friend isn't for sale, either!" Aang cried protectively, putting an arm in front of Ka. She smirked. The reptile-bird cawed.

Katara looked at the shelf of scrolls and pulled out one with the Water Tribe insignia on it. She opened it and gasped. "Look at this, Aang! It's a waterbending scroll! Look at these crazy moves!" she said, staring at it in awe. "Where'd you get a waterbending scroll?" Aang asked. The reptile-bird man snatched it and rolled it up smugly.

"Let's just say I got it up north for the most reasonable price…_free_," he said and placed it back in its spot. "Wait a minute…sea-loving traders, with suspiciously-acquired merchandise, and pet reptile-birds…YOU GUYS ARE PIRATES!" Sokka said, spitting into the green man's face. He wrapped an arm around Sokka and said, "We prefer to think of ourselves as _high-risked traders_."

Katara looked at the two copper pieces in her hand. "So, how much for the, uh, _traded_ scroll?" she asked slyly. "I've already got a buyer. A nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless, of course, you kids got 200 gold pieces on ya right now…" the reptile-bird pirate said.

"I know how to deal with these guys, Katara. Pirates love to haggle," Aang said, extending his hand. Katara put the copper pieces in his hand. "Watch and learn," Aang said.

"Let's say to the price of…one copper piece!" Aang said, imitating a really-bad pirate voice. The reptile-bird pirate laughed, then his face grew serious. "The price is 200 gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare."

"Okay…two copper pieces!" Aang said. "It's not as amusing the second time, boy…" the pirate said threateningly.

"Aang, can we get out of here? I feel like we're getting weird looks," Katara said to him. "Aye, we be castin' off now!" Aang said, grabbing his staff and walking out with the others.

"What was that about, Katara?" Aang asked. "Yeah, I was just starting to browse through the boomerang collection!" Sokka said. Ka put her hands on her head self-consciously. Katara put her hands on her arms. "I'll just feel a lot better once we get far-away from that place," she said.

"Hey, you! Get back here!" the green pirate yelled. "Well, well. Look who's come to their senses. I told you the haggling would pay off!" Aang said as Katara backed up behind Sokka. The pirates jumped down in front of them with weapons in their hands.

"I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us…!" Katara cried. They started to run away from them. Half of the pirates followed the four as the other half went to go cut them off.

"Whoa!" Sokka cried as he turned sharply around a corner. Katara waterbended from a bowl of water and froze it on the ground, causing one of the pirates to slip and fall. The other two jumped over the ice.

Katara, Ka, and Sokka ran past the cabbage merchant. But Aang jumped through and airbended the cabbage cart towards the pirates. "Oh, my cabbages! This place is worse than Omashu!" he cried.

They continued to run, but the other pirates cut them off. They started to run the other way. "I hope that lemur of yours has nine lives!" the green pirate said. The four ran into a dead end. "Now, who gets to taste the steel of my blade first?" the green one asked. "No, thanks," Aang said.

He airbended them away and opened his glider. "Grab on tight!" Aang yelled. Katara, Sokka, and Ka grabbed his glider. "Aang, I thought we were supposed to be running away from the pirates!" Katara cried. They screamed as they barely missed them. The pirates watched them fly away.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Back at the waterfall, Aang sat on a rock. "I used to kinda look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible!" he said. "I know. That's why I took…this!" Katara said, holding out the waterbending scroll. "No way!" Aang said. "Isn't it great!?" Katara asked.

"No wonder they were trying to hack us up! You stole their waterbending scroll!" Sokka said. "I prefer to think of it as '_high-risked trading_'," Katara said smugly, crossing her arms. Aang laughed. "Good one, Katara!" he said. "Sokka, where do you think they got it!? They stole it from a waterbender!"

"It doesn't matter! You put all of our lives in danger just so you can learn some stupid, fancy splashes!" Sokka said. Ka glared at him. "These are real waterbending forms! You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending!" Katara said. "Whatever," Sokka said, walking away.

"Katara, you stole it as well. That makes you as bad as the pirates," Ka said firmly and walked away with Sokka. Ka sat on a rock in the middle of the river and practiced her waterbending.

"Well, what's done is done. We have it. We might as well learn from it," Aang said.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I just want to try out this one move and then it's all yours. Here, hold it out for me," Katara said. Aang held it open as Katara backed up towards the water. "'The Single Water Whip'. Looks doable," she said, observing the paintings. When she tried to copy the stances, the water backfired and hit her in the forehead, leaving a red mark. Sokka laughed.

"What's so funny?" Katara asked angrily. "I'm sorry, but you deserved that," Sokka said. Then he turned to Aang and said, "You've been duped! She's only interested in teaching herself!"

"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the water whip!" Katara snapped. She tried again, and this time hit Momo's behind. He screeched in surprise. "Ugh! Why can't I get this stupid move!?" Katara asked angrily.

"You'll get it," Aang said. Katara looked at him. "You just have to shift you weight through the stances," he said, doing the water whip perfectly. "See, the key to bending is-!"

"WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT YOUR AIR HOLE!? Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes! Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted?!" Katara snapped. Sokka and Ka shook her head at Katara. "What!?" she asked.

Katara looked back at Aang. His lip was quivering and his eyes were welling up with tears. "Oh, my gosh, Aang! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me. But you know what? It won't happen again," Katara rolled up the scroll and handed it to Aang. "Here, this is yours. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore."

"It's okay, Katara," Aang said. "What about Momo? He's the real victim here!" Sokka said. Momo rubbed his behind as Katara apologized to him. "And what about me?! There's that time you-!"

"No more apologies!" Katara cried.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was night, and everyone was asleep. Except for Katara. She looked around at the three and grabbed the scroll out of Sokka's bag. As she snuck away, she turned around and came face to face with Ka. Katara gasped in surprise. "But-but…how did you…?" she asked, looking back at the empty space beside Aang.

"I can help you," Ka said, her arms crossed. "Really!? Thanks!" Katara wrapped her arms around her and they walked to the river.

"Aang was right. You must shift your weight through the stances, but you must also be determined. You must try," Ka said. "I _am_ trying!" Katara cried, waving her arms around frantically.

The two girls heard rustling and something moving. They peeked through the bushes and gasped. Katara ran into a pirate. "No! Let go of me!" She said, splashing a stream of water in the pirate's face. Ka pushed the pirate into the water and ran into Zuko. He grabbed her wrists. "I'll save you from the pirates," he said.

Zuko tied Katara to a tree and a guard held Ka tightly. "Tell me where he is, and I won't hurt you or your brother," Zuko demanded. "Go jump in the river!" Katara cried angrily. Zuko smirked. "Try to understand. I need him to restore something I've lost…my honor. Maybe in return, I can restore something you've lose," Zuko said in her ear. He held a necklace to her neck.

Katara gasped. "My mother's necklace! How did you get that!?" she asked as Zuko dangled it in her face. "I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering. Tell me where he is!" Zuko cried. "No!" Katara said.

"Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised a scroll!" the reptile-bird pirate said. Zuko pulled the scroll out from behind his back and created fire in his hands underneath it. "I wonder how much this is worth…" he said. The pirates cried out. "A lot, apparently. Now you get me what I want, you'll get this back, and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here!" Zuko ordered.

"Fine…" the pirate muttered and walked away.

Ka struggled against the guard's grip. He held her hands secure so she couldn't waterbend. "So, tell me, Tauln. How protective are you of the Avatar?" Zuko asked menacingly. "I will protect the Avatar with my life! I always will keep him safe!" Ka yelled angrily.

Katara looked at Ka. She'd never seen Ka so angry before! Usually, Ka was the voice of reason and kept her cool. But in times of danger, she would do anything to protect Aang. Zuko smirked. "The Avatar and his Tauln will be delivered to my father. Since they are equally powerful, the Fire Nation will easily let me back in with open arms," he said.

The pirates returned with Aang…and Sokka. "Nice work," Zuko said, walking towards them. Sokka tried to bite the ropes free while Aang just stood there. "Aang, this is all my fault," Katara said. "No, Katara, it isn't," Aang said. "Yeah, it kinda is," said the old man beside Katara.

Ka growled. "Give me the boy," Zuko said. "You give _us_ the scroll!" the pirate said. "You're really going to hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?" Sokka asked. Ka glared at Sokka, wishing she could slap him across the face. "Don't listen to him! He's trying to turn us against each other!" Zuko cried.

"Your friend is the Avatar?" the pirate asked, looking towards Aang. "Sure is! And I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the Black Market than that fancy scroll!" Sokka replied, smirking. "Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko ordered. "Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth!" Aang said nervously.

"I'm just sayin'! It's bad business sense. Imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!" Sokka said, causing the pirates to smile excitedly. "Keep the scroll! We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for the boy!" the pirate said.

"You'll regret breaking a deal with me!" Zuko said. He and his guards blew fire at the pirates, and they all jumped out of the way. The guard holding Ka hid back in the woods.

The green pirate threw smoke bombs at Zuko and his guards and ducked under a fire blast. Zuko blasted one more fireball and coughed in the smoke. The green pirate jumped in the smoke as three guards with spears ran towards Sokka and Aang. The pirates jumped in front of them and threw smoke bombs on the ground.

The guards stopped in front of the smoke, but the pirates pulled them in. Momo crawled down and cut the ropes around Katara's hands with his teeth. "Thanks, Momo! I owe you a bushel of apples!" she said and ran towards the boat.

Aang coughed in the smoke and dodged a sword coming towards him. It cut off his ropes and he shook them off. He nearly dodged a spear and quickly ran out of the way.

Zuko stumbled out of the smoke and put the scroll behind him. He glanced behind him and barely dodged a sword come towards him. It was the reptile-bird pirate. He pointed his sword at him. Zuko blasted fire at him and dodged the sword with his wrist.

Another pirate snatched the scroll from Zuko, but Momo caught it and flew in the air. The reptile bird flew after Momo and tried to get the scroll, but it fell into the smoke.

Sokka crawled through the smoke cloud and gasped when a sword came down on the ground. He cut his ropes with it. "Aang, are you there!?" he asked. Aang jumped over the smoke cloud. "I'm over here. Follow my voice!" he called. "Where? I can't find you!" Sokka cried.

"I'm right here!" Aang pushed away the smoke with his airbending, but there were pirates and guards surrounding him. He quickly put the smoke back. "Uh…never mind! I'll find you!" he said. Sokka and Aang got out of the smoke. "RUN!" Aang yelled.

The two ran towards Katara, who was trying to push the boat into the water. "Katara! You're okay!" Aang said. "Help me push this boat back into the water so we can get outta here!" she said.

The three tried to budge it, but it was too heavy. "We need a team of rhinos to budge this ship!" Sokka said. "A team of rhinos…or…two waterbenders?" Aang asked, smiling at Katara. She looked at him in surprise. Aang and Katara used the water to get the boat back in the water.

"Everybody in!" Katara cried. They climbed in one by one. "Wait! Where's Ka!?" Aang asked, looking around. "The guard holding her must have gone into the forest!" Katara said. "We have to go get her!" Aang said. "No! There's no time! She'll find us again! She's your Tauln, Aang. She'll always be able to find us," Katara said, holding Aang back. He sighed.

"Sokka, can't you make it go any faster!?" Aang asked when he saw the pirates on Zuko's boat. "I don't know how! This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe!" Sokka cried.

Aang looked at the boat that was getting close to them. The pirates jumped on. Aang waterbended them away from Katara and one of them fell overboard. Katara bit her lip and used the water whip to hit the other pirate overboard. "Hey, you did the water whip!" Aang cried. "I couldn't have done it without you and Ka's help!" Katara said.

"Will you two quit congratulating each other and help me out!?" Sokka asked, tangled in between the green pirate and a muscular pirate. The muscular pirate threw Sokka against the sail. "That's good!" the green pirate chuckled. Aang airbended the green pirate away and spun the other one around and around until he fell overboard.

Aang jumped down and shook Sokka. "Aang! Look!" Katara cried, pointing towards the waterfall. "Oh, no!" Aang cried. The green pirate pulled out his swords and pointed them at Aang. He pulled out the bison whistle and blew it hard. Sokka kicked the green pirate overboard.

"Have you lost your mind!? This is no time for flute practice!" Sokka cried. Katara gasped fearfully as she looked at the waterfall. "We can stop the boat! Aang, together, push and pull the water!" Katara and Aang did exactly that.

"It's working! It's slowing down!" Katara cried. The boat came to a complete stop on the edge of the waterfall. "We're doing it!" Katara cried happily. "But we've got another problem!" Sokka pointed to Zuko's boat. It crashed into the pirates' ship and caused them all to fall over. They screamed.

Appa caught them as they fell. "Thanks, buddy! I knew that bison whistle would come in handy!" Aang said.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"My boat!" Zuko cried, looking over the edge. Iroh chuckled. "Prince Zuko, you're really going to get a kick out of this…The lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!" he said, smiling brightly and holding the tile out to him. Zuko huffed and snatched the tile. He threw it over and it hit the green pirate's head.

"Prince Zuko," said the guard holding Ka. He had knocked her out because she was getting too "rowdy". "WHAT!?" Zuko snapped. He looked at the unconscious Tauln and smirked. "Good work. Take her back to the ship!" Zuko ordered.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Aang, I still owe you an apology. You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger. It's my fault we lost Ka. I'm sorry," Katara said sadly. "That's okay, Katara," Aang said. "Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?" she asked.

"Is that really how you feel?" Sokka asked, holding out the waterbending scroll. "The scroll!" Katara exclaimed, reaching for it. Sokka pulled it back. "First, what did you learn?" Sokka asked. "Stealing is wrong…" Katara said. Sokka handed her the scroll, and she snatched it out of his hands. "…unless it's from pirates!" Katara finished smugly.

Aang laughed. "Good one, Katara!" he said. He looked happy on the outside, but on the inside, he was really scared for Ka. She was practically his older sister. _I hope Ka will be okay. Katara was right. She is my Tauln, and she'll be able to find us again. But…still…she's Zuko's prisoner. I hope nothing happens to her_, he thought. "Aang, Ka is going to be okay," Katara said. "Yeah, Zuko needs her along with you, so you know nothing is going to happen to her," Sokka said. Aang smiled and nodded once. "Thanks."


	5. Prisoner

Chapter 5: Prisoner

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. I only own my OC, Ka.**

Ka gasped and her eyes shot open. "Aang!" she yelled out. She looked around and realized that she was in a prison cell. Obviously, on Zuko's warship. Ka sighed and buried her face in her hands. _I failed…A Tauln is supposed to be with their Avatar. If he's in danger, I can't go to him! I'll have failed my father! I'll have failed Aang!_

She felt tears well in her eyes, but blinked them away. No, she had to be strong. She was a Tauln. A Tauln is just as powerful as their Avatar. She took a deep breath and lay down on the bed. Ka stared up at the ceiling.

"Excuse me," said a voice. Ka recognized it as the old man's voice that was standing next to Katara when she was tied to the tree. But Ka ignored it. "I can see why you're upset. You think you've failed your Avatar. But he's safe, yes?" asked the voice. Ka blinked. "If he's safe, then you haven't failed."

Ka sat up and looked at the old man. "My name is Iroh. I'm Prince Zuko's uncle," he said, bowing to her. Ka stood and bowed back to him. "My name is Ka," she said.

"Your eyes are very beautiful," Iroh complimented. Ka smiled. "Thank you, Iroh," she said. "Would you like some tea?" Iroh asked. Ka nodded once. "Yes, please."

"Jasmine or ginseng?" he asked. "Jasmine, please," Ka replied and sipped the tea Iroh handed to her. "I made it myself," he said. "It's wonderful!" Ka said happily.

"Thank you!" Iroh said happily, chuckling softly. Ka continued to drink the tea. "So…which Spirit do you descend from?" Iroh asked. Ka blinked. Should she answer? It wouldn't hurt, right?

"Koh the Face-Stealer," she replied nonchalantly. Iroh's eyes widened for a moment, and then he laughed. "He is a special one! What powers did you acquire from him?" he asked. "None from him. The Tauln's natural element is the next in the cycle after the Avatar. I was born a waterbender, but recently, I was told that I could also master all four elements…" Ka said. She smiled at him. She knew she could trust Iroh. It was a skill she had.

"Usually, the Spirits do not tell the Tauln that they are also able to master all four elements. They sometimes fear that they might betray their Avatar and rise in power. After Avatar Singsena and her Tauln, Utoka were equal in power, Tauln Utoka fought her Avatar for power," Iroh explained.

"I didn't know that. So why did they tell me?" Ka asked. "It seems that the Spirits believe that you are true to your word. A traditional Tauln never tells a lie, except to protect their Avatar, and respects every living thing," Iroh said. "I spent my whole life in my father's cave. The only other people I saw were the people my father stole their faces from, Avatar Roku, and my waterbending teacher," Ka said.

"Avatar Roku was the one who told you, isn't it?" Iroh asked. Ka gasped. How did he know? "Yes. He taught me to use weapons when my bending was unavailable," Ka replied softly.

Iroh smiled. "That's a good skill to have," he said. "My father was very protective of me, especially when I was frozen for 100 years. He drilled me to be traditional ever since I was born…" Ka said quietly. Then she asked, "The Spirits think I am…true to my word?"

Iroh nodded once and refilled her cup. "Spirits are tough judges. If they find one ounce of darkness in your heart, they won't trust you. Your heart is pure. It's too bad my nephew will not let you out of the cell. I would play Pai Sho with you on the deck!" he said, laughing heartily.

Ka smiled. "I thank you for being kind to me, Iroh," she said, placed the cup on the tray. "Anytime, Tauln Ka," he said. "You can call me Ka, if you'd like," she said. Iroh laughed again. _He sure laughs a lot. I wonder how he does it_, Ka thought. "Alright! I'll see you later, Ka!" Iroh said and walked away.

She sighed and flopped on the severely uncomfortable bed. She'd rather sleep on Appa. Ka loved sleeping on Appa. He was so soft and fluffy.

Ka smiled and stared at the ceiling. "On your feet, peasant!" said a harsh voice. Ka groaned. _Zuko_, she thought and stood. "'Peasant'? Is that really the best you can do?" she asked.

Zuko ignored her. "Tell me where the Avatar is!" he ordered. "I am not going to tell you…Zuko-ko," she smirked. "Don't call me that!" Zuko cried angrily, fire daggers forming in his hands. But that was a mistake, and he knew it. Ka put her hands on her slim hips.

"Oh, alright. How about…Zuzu? Or maybe Ko-Ko? Firefly? Prince Ponytail?" Ka said teasingly, smirking slyly. Zuko cried out in anger. "Just tell me where the Avatar is, Tauln!" he yelled, getting up in her face.

Ka got up in his face, their noses nearly touching. She took a deep breath. "No," she said simply. "I know you know where he is!" Zuko screamed. "I do know where he is. I'm just not gonna tell you," Ka said, sitting on the bed with her legs outstretched and one over the other.

Zuko stomped away, muttering curses. "…Ko-Ko is cray-cray…" Ka whispered to herself. She smirked and closed her eyes, lying on the bed. She used her bending to take a stream of water from the ocean and played around with it.

"Why are you spying on me?" she asked, surprising Zuko. He frowned angrily. Ka hit the Zuko with the stream of water, soaking him. He growled. "I see you've met Ka," Iroh said. Zuko looked at him. Ka sighed and closed her eyes. "She is the child of Koh the Face-Stealer. The one in the legend I told you?" Iroh said.

Zuko stared at Ka, who smirked deviously. "Not so tough now, are you, Ko-Ko?" she asked. "Shut up!" Zuko yelled. "Next time Aang goes into the Spirit World, I'm gonna tell Father everything that's happened since I left!" Ka said jokingly.

Iroh laughed again as Zuko stomped off, for good this time. Ka smirked. "You shouldn't rile up my nephew like that," Iroh said. "I apologize. I've never had someone to mess with," Ka said apologetically. Iroh smiled.

"I'll try to convince Prince Zuko to let you out of your cell," he said. "But I won't promise that I won't try to escape," Ka said. Iroh bowed. "Of course. I understand," he said.

Ka watched him walk away. As she sat in the middle of the floor, meditating, she remembered a happy memory from when she was six.

_A six-year old Ka with short golden hair tried to get her father's attention. But he was speaking to a man with stubby brown hair. He tried his best to remain expressionless. Ka tapped one of her father's legs. "Daddy," she said. "Patience, Ka," Koh said._

_ The man looked at Ka with confusion, and Koh smirked. He began to suck the man's face away, and he screamed. It was the most excruciating pain he had ever felt. Ka gasped and watched in fear as her father took the face of the man. He put his hands to his face and felt nothing. The man ran out of the cave quickly. If he still had his face, he would be crying and screaming._

_ "Daddy, is he going to be okay?" Ka asked. "Ah, yes. Traditional Tauln personality! Caring about others no matter what they did wrong in the past," Koh said. Ka blinked. "So, what did you need, my child?" Koh asked. _

_"Do you think I'm going to be a good Tauln?" Ka asked. Koh shook his head. "No," he replied simply. Ka frowned. "I-I can practice more! I promise I'll be a great Tauln for my Avatar!" she cried. Koh smiled. "I don't think you're going to be a good Tauln…I know you're going to be a great Tauln. And I admire your determination, child," he said._

_ Ka smiled and hugged her father. "You got me again, Daddy!" she said excitedly. Koh chuckled. Again, he may be the Face-Stealer, but he loved his daughter so much. She was so important to him. _

_ And her father was important to Ka. She would never let him down. She will never fail him. "I promise I'll make you proud," Ka whispered. "You already have, my child," Koh said._

Ka smiled happily. That was one of the many times she had seen her father steal a face. No matter what, it would always scare her. Ka wasn't perfect. She may be the daughter of Koh the Face-Stealer, but she wasn't perfect. Ka figured her mother was a normal girl, but she didn't know. Her father wouldn't tell her.

"What are you so happy about?" a guard asked rudely. Ka sighed in annoyance. "I'm alive, aren't I?" she replied with a question. The guard huffed and continued to stand in front of her door. Ka rolled her shimmering purple eyes and continued to meditate.

_The phoenix in the sky _

_The mountains over the horizon_

_The flock that flies so high_

_The water in the stream_

_The diamonds that gleam_

_The world will always be a happy place_

_As long as I am with you_

"Shut up!" the same guard yelled harshly. Ka realized that she had been softly singing a lullaby that her waterbending teacher, and also best friend, had sang to her sometimes. "Why?" Ka asked. "Sometimes I want some peace and quiet! So shut it!" the guard said.

"Can I ask what your name is?" Ka politely asked the guard. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ling," he replied. "Well, _Ling_, my name is Ka," she said.

"My teacher, Master Raylyn, taught me that song," Ka said. Ling ignored her. "Who taught you firebending?" Ka asked. "Master Yunnan," he replied. "Master Raylyn was my waterbending teacher," Ka said, smiling.

Ling smirked deviously. "Waterbending? You must be pretty skilled then, right?" he asked. "I suppose," Ka said. Something wasn't right. Ling was planning something.

"I'm pretty skilled myself. Perhaps you'd be interested in…mixing our skills?" Ling asked. "No, thanks," Ka said, backing up against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer today, Goldie," Ling said and opened the door.

Ka stared at him. _Oh…I see_, she thought. Ling walked up to her and forcefully put his lips on hers and stuck his tongue in her mouth. Ka bit down and screamed out loud.

"Hmm…feisty. Let us put those skills of yours to the test!" Ling said evilly and ran his hands up and down her waist. "Release me!" she cried, kicking him back. Ling tried to take off her garment, but Ka punched him in the mouth. Ling cried out and stumbled out into the hall. Then Ling growled and set his hand on fire. He grabbed Ka's leg with his flaming hand. She screamed out in pain and tried to push his hand away, but he wouldn't let go.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Zuko could hear struggles and screams coming from Ka's prison cell. No, wait…_the Tauln's prison cell_. He stood up and walked over to see the door open and Ling trying to put himself on her. Zuko got really angry and protective for some reason and grabbed Ling's neck, pushing him against the wall.

Zuko looked back to see Ka on the ground, holding her leg. He could see tears streaming down her face as she choked between breaths and cries of pain. "I should throw you overboard…" he growled in Ling's ear.

Zuko tossed Ling aside and walked up to Ka. Zuko moved her hands to see a large, severe burn on her left leg. She looked at him, blinking away her tears. "Uncle!" he yelled. Iroh walked up to him. "Yes?" Then he saw Ka.

"What happened?!" he asked. "L-Ling…" Ka choked out between heavy breaths. _It hurts! Oh, my gosh…it hurts so badly! Why does it hurt? Why can't I speak right? Oh, it hurts_, Ka thought.

"I'll go get my medical kit. Prince Zuko, carry her to your room," Iroh said. "What!? Why my room!?" he asked. "Prince Zuko, her burn is very severe! It could get infected! Your room is closest!" Iroh said and walked away.

Zuko carefully picked Ka up in his arms, his face bright red. Ka winced and put her arms around his neck. He was really warm. "Ow…" Ka mumbled.

Zuko walked to his room and hesitated before setting Ka on the bed. Iroh walked in with his medical kit and took out the herbal ointment he used to diminish pain and infection.

Iroh held her burnt leg out and rubbed the ointment on the burn. Ka winced and groaned, but sighed when it stopped hurting. "Are you alright, Miss Ka?" Iroh asked. Zuko crossed his arms and looked at her. "Yes. Thank you…" she said, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth.

Iroh wrapped her leg in a bandage and set it down. "I'm very certain that my nephew will let you move into a better room. Perhaps the room next door?" Iroh said, eyeing Zuko. "Absolutely not! She is a prisoner!" Zuko cried. _Why would I take her from her cell!? She's the Avatar's Tauln! I have to deliver her to my father too!_ Zuko thought angrily.

"She is a lady, Prince Zuko. She should be treated with respect!" Iroh scolded. "How long have I been here?" Ka suddenly asked. "Three days," Zuko muttered. _Geez, that guard must have hit me pretty hard for me to have been out for three days!_ Ka thought.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh said, looking at his nephew. Zuko sighed angrily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine! But she isn't allowed out of her room, and no one goes in!" Zuko snapped. Iroh smiled and nodded once.

Ka tried to stand up, but Iroh stopped her. "Let me help you," he said. He put his arm around his neck and helped her get to her room. Zuko followed them and crossed his arms. "The bathroom and shower is over there," he said, pointing to another room. Ka looked over and bowed. "Thank you," she said and sat on the bed.

Iroh and Zuko left, closing the door and locking it from the outside. Ka sighed. _Why did he carry me? I'm perfectly capable of walking! I'm strong enough on my own. But he felt so warm_, Ka thought then blushed.

She looked at her bandaged leg and ran a hand through her hair. "So the adventure begins…" she said to herself.


	6. Ka and Ko-Ko

Chapter 5: Ka and Ko-Ko

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. I only own Ka.**

Zuko had been checking up on Ka ever since the burn incident. She hasn't left her room for days, and she didn't seem to mind. Guards slipped her food under the door, and she always ate it. Even though Ka annoyed the crap out of Zuko, she still was traditional and didn't try to escape.

She often meditated in the middle of the room.

Zuko looked through the tiny window of the door to see Ka brushing her hair in front of the mirror. She wore a red Fire Nation robe and hummed as she ran the brush through her silky, golden hair. Zuko thought that she was very beautiful, and then blushed bright red. He shook his head furiously and crossed his arms.

"At least the Avatar is safe…" he heard Ka mutter. _Maybe she'll reveal where the Avatar is_, Zuko thought and continued to spy on her. Ka set the brush down and grabbed the ribbon on the table. Zuko felt almost…disappointed when she tied her hair up with the blue ribbon.

Ka stood up and grabbed her Water Tribe clothes. Zuko realized that she was about to change and walked away quickly, his face red as a tomato.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ka changed into her normal clothes and heard a knock on the door. It surprised her, because she never heard anyone knock before. The door opened and she saw Iroh. "Would you like to join me for a game of Pai Sho?" he asked. Ka smirked. "Gladly," she said. Iroh led her out of the room and they walked to the deck.

"What is she doing out here!?" Zuko demanded furiously. "I can imagine that Miss Ka wants some fresh air after being trapped in a stuffy room for days," Iroh replied calmly. Ka smiled. "I spent my entire life in a dark cave, Iroh. I'm used to tight, small spaces. Except I wasn't alone. I lived with my centipede of a father…literally!" Ka started to laugh.

_Oh, my gosh, I'm laughing! This is the first time I've ever laughed!_ Ka thought excitedly. Zuko thought she sounded and looked cute when she smiled and laughed. Iroh smirked at his expression, and Zuko turned his head away.

"Whatever," he muttered, walking away. Iroh smiled and led Ka to a table with game pieces on it. They sat down on each side. "You use the lotus tile!" Ka exclaimed. "I see you stick to the traditional ways," Iroh said. "Master Raylyn and I played Pai Sho all the time!" Ka said.

"Ah, Raylyn Casandla…the daughter of the Moon and Ocean Spirits. I assume she was your waterbending teacher?" Iroh guessed. Ka nodded. "Yes, but I haven't mastered it yet. I haven't mastered anything, yet…and I've been training ever since I was 3!" Ka said.

Iroh moved his lotus tile to a space. Ka blinked. "Prince Zuko, we need to stop and stock up on supplies," said a crew member. Zuko groaned angrily. "Set a course for the nearest market!" he ordered.

When they docked on the port, Zuko and Iroh prepared to leave. "Can I accompany you?" Ka asked. "Absolutely not!" Zuko cried. Ka sighed. "I can get some stupid Fire Nation clothes there so no one gets suspicious!" she said.

"She is right, Prince Zuko," Iroh said. Zuko sighed. "Fine! Whatever! Let's just go!" he said. Ka smiled happily and followed them.

As Iroh and a couple of the crew members stocked up on supplies, Zuko took Ka to get fitted for new clothing. "I'm honored that you have chosen my tailor, Prince Zuko. Come with me, miss," the old woman said, leading Ka to a different room.

"So, are you from the Water Tribe?" the tailor asked as she got measurements from Ka. "No. It's just clothing that my father had available one day," Ka replied simply. "What's your name, dear?" the tailor asked. "I am Ka," she replied.

"My name is Minoa," the tailor said, bowing to her. Ka bowed back and smiled. "Now, I have three different outfits that would possible fit you," Minoa said handed Ka three different outfits.

Ka went into the other room and changed into it. She walked out in front of Zuko and twirled around. He stared at her. The clothing consisted of a short, below-the-shoulder shirt that had the Fire Nation insignia on the front and dark edges, a long red skirt, and red flats. Zuko blushed and turned his head away.

Ka changed into the other two inside the room. She seemed to be deciding which one she wanted. She eventually came out, wearing an outfit similar to the first one. The difference was that it was very decorated and beautiful and instead of a long red skirt, it was baggy dark red pants with boots.

"I like this one!" Ka exclaimed and smiled. She turned to Zuko and blushed when she caught him staring at her with his mouth slightly open. "Your boyfriend likes it too," Minoa whispered to Ka. "He's not my boyfriend!" Ka protested in a frantic whisper, her face bright red. Minoa chuckled.

Zuko handed Minoa three gold pieces and they walked away. "I like the color red, despite my natural element!" Ka said as they started to walk back to the ship. Zuko crossed his arms and ignored her.

"Hey, Ko-Ko. I'm speaking to you," Ka said, poking his cheek. Zuko's face flushed as he glared at her. "Stop calling me that!" he snapped. Ka started to laugh again. "You know, I've never laughed before," Ka said.

"What?" Zuko asked in disbelief. Ka nodded once. "When you've lived in a dark cave with a Face-Stealer your entire childhood, it takes a lot to get you to laugh. It feels good!" she said, taking out her blue ribbon. Zuko stared as her golden hair blew in the wind.

"Can I get a red ribbon?" Ka asked. "No. There's no time," Zuko muttered as a reply. He suddenly noticed her limp for the first time. "Be careful with your burn!" he cried.

"Hmm? Oh, I forgot. It started to hurt again when I got these clothes. Since I'm half-Spirit, things heal a bit faster for me," Ka said. She almost tripped over a rock in the ground, but Zuko grabbed her arm and caught her. "Be careful!" he yelled.

Ka blushed as Zuko accidentally pulled her back onto him. He felt his face flush and let go of her like it burned. "Let's get back to the ship," he mumbled angrily and grabbed her hand. He practically was running back to the ship, their hands intertwined. "Ko-Ko, slow down!" Ka cried as she tried to keep up.

Zuko ignored her and sighed when they got back on the ship. Iroh raised an eyebrow when he saw their hands together. Zuko blushed and quickly let go of her hand. He stomped away to his room and slammed the door shut.

"What happened?" Iroh asked Ka. She shrugged. "We went to get my new clothes, then I almost tripped, and he yelled at me to be careful with my burn," Ka replied. Iroh smiled and walked away. Ka watched him leave.

_What just happened?_ She asked herself.


	7. The Storm

Chapter 6: The Storm

**Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. I only own Ka and Ale.**

Iroh sniffed the air. "There's a storm coming. A big one," he said. Zuko walked over to him. "You're out of your mind, Uncle! The weather's perfect! There's not a cloud in sight!" he said. Ka looked over at them.

"A storm is approaching from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest," Iroh said. "We know the Avatar is traveling north, so we will do the same," Zuko said. "Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew!" Iroh said. "The safety of the crew doesn't matter!" Zuko snapped.

Lieutenant Jee raised an eyebrow at him. Zuko walked up to Jee. "Finding the Avatar is far more important that any individual's safety," he said and stormed off. "He doesn't mean that. He's just all worked up," Iroh said.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dangerous-looking storm clouds began to come from the north. "Looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all!" Jee said. "Lucky guess," Iroh said. "Lieutenant! You better learn some respect, or I'll teach it to you," Zuko threatened, poking his chest with two fingers and walking away.

"What do _you_ know about respect!?" Jee asked. Iroh made the signal to cut it out. Zuko stiffened. "The way you talk to everyone around here—from your hard-working crew to your esteemed uncle—shows you know _nothing_ about respect!" Iroh groaned and put a hand to his forehead.

"You don't care about anyone but yourself! But then again, what should I expect from a spoiled Prince!?" Jee snapped._ Oh, snap_, Ka thought. Zuko furrowed his eyebrows and got into a fighting stance towards Jee. "Easy now…" Iroh said as Jee did the same to Zuko.

Their arms steamed against each other, but Iroh broke it up. "Enough! We're all a bit tired from being at sea so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles, everyone will feel much better," he said. Ka looked back towards the sea and stared out into the distance. She hoped Aang was okay.

"I don't need your help keeping order on my ship!" Zuko said. Iroh put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off with a grunt. Iroh leaned into Jee and whispered in his ear, "Himself is not the only one Prince Zuko cares about." Iroh nudged his head towards Ka.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The rain poured down heavily on the ship. "I'm sick of taking his orders! I'm tired of chasing his Avatar! I mean, who does Zuko think he is!?" Lieutenant Jee ranted as he drank his drink. "Do you really want to know?" Iroh asked as he stood on top of the stairs with Ka. Jee stood up. "General Iroh! We were just-!" Jee said.

"It's okay. May we join you?" Iroh asked. "Of course!" Jee said. Iroh and Ka sat down in front of the fire. "Try to understand. My nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much," Iroh said.

_As generals and commanders walked into the Fire Lord's war chambers, a younger Prince Zuko tried to get in. "Let me in!" he ordered. "Prince Zuko, what's wrong?" Iroh asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I want to go into the war chamber, but the guard won't let me pass!" Zuko replied. _

_"You're not missing anything, trust me! These meetings are dreadfully boring," Iroh said. "If I'm going to rule this Nation someday, don't you think I should start learning as much as I can?" Zuko asked, smiling._** (A/N: Zuko….Smiling. OMG WATS WRONG WITH THE WORLD!?)**

_"Very well. But you must promise not to speak. These old folk are a bit sensitive, you know?" Iroh said. Zuko bowed to Iroh. "Thank you, Uncle!" he said. The two walked in together. _

_"The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here. A dangerous battalion of their strongest Earthbenders and fiercest warriors. So I am recommending the forty-first division," one of the generals said, pushing the little Fire Nation thingy towards the other Earth Kingdom thingys. "But the forty-first is entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?" asked another._

_"I don't. They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait than fresh meat?" the general asked, smirking. _

_"You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them!?" Zuko suddenly said, standing up. The others stared at him in anger._

"Zuko was right, you see. But it was not his place to speak out. And there were…dire consequences," Iroh said. Ka gasped. She was totally sucked into the story right now.

"After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that his challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect. And there was only one way to resolve this," Iroh said. "Agni Kai. A fire duel," Jee said. "That's right. Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the general. Zuko had spoken out against the general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord who he had disrespected. Zuko would have to duel his own father!" Iroh said.

Ka gasped softly and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "When Prince Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy," Iroh continued.

_"Please, Father! I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!" Zuko cried. "You will fight for your honor!" Fire Lord Ozai said, walking towards him. Zuko kneeled on the floor and bowed. "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son…" he said._

_"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" Ozai ordered. "I won't fight you," Zuko said. "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher," Ozai said as Zuko looked up, tears streaming down his face._

"I looked away…" Iroh said, turning his head from all of them. "I always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident…" Jee said. "It was no accident. After the duel, the Fire Lord said that refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment, he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then, could he return with his honor," Iroh said.

"So that's why he's so obsessed…Capturing the Avatar and now his Tauln is the only chance he has at things returning to normal," Jee said. "Things will never return to normal. But the important thing is, the Avatar and the Tauln give Zuko hope," Iroh said, smiling at Ka. She blushed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ka walked up the control area of the ship. "Hello, Miss Ka," the helmsman said, bowing. She smiled and bowed back. Suddenly, lightning struck the control center, and they stumbled out. Ka screamed.

"Where were we hit!?" Zuko asked. "I don't know!" Jee cried. The helmsman hung onto the bar with one arm. Ka gripped the rail tightly, looking down at the long drop. "The helmsman!" Zuko cried. He and Jee climbed up the ladder and caught the helmsman when he fell.

Ka yelled out as she fell over once the waves crashed into the boat. Zuko caught her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "Oh, my God…" she mumbled.

_I'm an idiot_, she thought as Zuko set her down on the deck. His face was bright red, and so was Ka's. She watched in amazement as Iroh redirected the lightning into the ocean, leaving him smoking.

Zuko saw Appa flying over a wave. "The Avatar!" he yelled. Ka gasped. "What do you want to do, sir?" Jee asked, obviously having more respect for him. "Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety," Zuko replied.

"Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm," Iroh said smirking. The rain poured down as they ship headed towards the eye. Ka sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

Suddenly, Zuko, Iroh, and the other crew members gasped as Ka's eye began to glow. "Ka!?" Jee asked. Ka stood completely still. Zuko stared at her. "The Avatar and his Tauln are spiritually connected," Iroh said. Ka didn't even blink.

They finally made it to the eye. Ka's eyes still glowed. "Uncle, I'm sorry…" Zuko said. "Your apology is accepted," Iroh said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Ka's eyes returned to their normal color, and she passed out. One of the younger crew members—Ale—caught her before she hit the ground. Just as she passed out, the Avatar's bison flew out of the water.

Zuko and Aang looked at each other, and then Aang looked at Ka. _She's okay…_Aang thought and breathed out in relief. Zuko watched him fly above the clouds.

"I'll take her to her room," Ale said, picking Ka up in his arms. "No!" Zuko cried. They all looked at him. "I'll take her," he said firmly, blushing. Zuko grabbed Ka and carried her to her room. He placed her on the bed and stared at her. She just looked so beautiful…

Zuko reached out and brushed a strand of her gold hair behind her ear, then pulled his hand away, realizing what he was doing. His face flushed and he stormed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.


	8. Night Sky

Chapter 7: Night Sky

**A/N: Just so you don't get confused, Ka and Zuko are, like, friends now. Well, sorta-friends-who-kinda-like-each-other-but-they'r e-too-stupid-to-get-together-and-they-are-friends. Sorry, it's kind of a small chapter…So…yeah…Zuko, would you do the disclaimer, please?**

**Zuko: No. You do it.**

**Me: DO IT NOW!**

**Zuko: *fearfully* The Purple Rainbow does not own ATLA. She only owns Ka and Ale and Ling…Is that good enough?**

**Me: Yes. Now go to Katara. **

**Zuko: But-**

**Me: ZUTARA!**

It was night. Ka snuck out of her room and went onto the deck. She hasn't really ever seen the night sky before, only when she was traveling with her Avatar. And she was determined to get a glance.

The sky was clear, and the stars were beautiful. She laid down on the metal floor and stared up at the sky.

"What are you doing?" asked a voice. "What does it look like I'm doing?" Ka asked. Zuko stood over her. He was shirtless. Ka felt her face flush and she sighed. "I'm stargazing!" she said. Zuko looked up at the sky and then back at her. "Do you want to watch with me?" Ka asked.

Zuko blinked. "If you do not want to, then can you please leave me be?" Ka asked. He sighed and laid down next to her, his cheeks pink. "Why are you watching the sky? It's just…stars," Zuko said. _What am I doing?! She's the enemy! I'm supposed to deliver her and the Avatar to my father! _He thought, but didn't budge.

"Well, in the Spirit World, there's no night and day. Even if there was, I wouldn't have seen it. My father wouldn't let me out of his cave," Ka replied simply. "Why didn't he let you out?" Zuko asked.

"My father was protective of me, and I appreciate that. The Spirit World is full of evil Spirits along with good ones. If I got lost, then a Spirit could have taken advantage of my innocence and used me for evil," Ka replied. "But-?" Zuko started. "Don't you ever get tired of asking questions?" she interrupted, looking at him with her beautiful purple eyes.

Zuko stared at her and felt his face get hot. Why does this keep happening?! He pretended to cough and looked away. "Your uncle told me the story of your scar," Ka suddenly said. Zuko looked back at her with surprise and mild anger. "What!?" he asked. Ka looked at him. She nodded once. "So what!? Now you're gonna laugh at me for being weak and helpless!?" Zuko snapped, sitting up.

Ka sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. "No. You were standing up for what you believe. I do not think that is being weak and helpless. I believe it is called being true and strong," she said. Zuko stared at her. _She thinks I'm true and strong? What is wrong with her?_ He thought.

Ka smiled brightly. She looked back up at the sky. The moon was full. Ka stood up and looked at the ocean.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked, standing up. He watched as Ka started to move in Waterbending forms and the water flowed around her body. She smirked at him and splashed him with water, soaking him. He grumbled and glared at Ka. "Hey!" he cried. Ka started to giggle.

Zuko blasted fire at her, and she dodged it. "Fail," she said, laughing. Ka waterbended a stream of water at his face, causing him to fall. She froze his feet and dodged another fireball. She created a waterball and blasted it at him.

Zuko's body heat melted the ice around his feet and he blasted fire at the waterball, smirking. They both knew that they weren't really fighting. The two elements exploded at touch, causing them both to fall back.

Ka looked at her bandage and flipped her hair out of her face. "Is that all you got, Ko-Ko?" she taunted. Zuko smirked and created fire daggers in his hands. Standing up, he and Ka dodged and blew attacks to each other.

Ka swept her leg around and tried to trip Zuko, but he jumped and grabbed her arm. He put his arm around her back. Ka took a deep breath and jumped, flipping over Zuko and grabbing his ponytail and holding his own arm around his back. She laughed and froze him in ice.

Zuko melted the ice and fell when Ka swept her leg around. He fell on top of her. Their faces both turned red when they realized that their faces were inches apart, their noses nearly touching.

Zuko quickly got off of her and stood up. "I am victorious," Ka said, smirking and putting her hands on her hips. Zuko scoffed and walked back to his room. Ka laughed and went back to her own room.


	9. AN

**Sorry, but this is just an A/N. I wanted to clear up a few things:**

**-I don't care if you don't like my writing style.**

**-Ka isn't that skilled at waterbending because she's the rare type of Tauln that aren't the child of the Moon and Ocean Spirits. **

**-My mom doesn't let me watch TV while playing the laptop, so I will be updating much less frequently.**

**-Bear with me here, but I love writing Zuko X OCs, and I've got 5 of 'em being written…sorry.**

**-Thank you to all the reviewers and readers who actually took the time to read my first ATLA story. Thanks for dealing with my suckiness! XD**

**Peace out, hombrahs.**


	10. The Blue Spirit

**A/N: I don't own anything. I only own my OCs. Thank you, for suggesting the idea of the dream.**

_Zuko was in a dark cave. He whirled around, trying to figure out where he was. Suddenly, Ka's voice ran through his mind. "Expressionless…stay…" she whispered. _

_ "What!? Ka!?" Zuko asked, looking around. He reluctantly did what she told him and jumped when a face suddenly peered out of the darkness. "So, you've captured Ka…" he whispered. Zuko blinked and stayed expressionless. _

_ "It would break my daughter's heart if I were to steal your face…"_

_ "What?" Zuko asked. This guy was Ka's father!? He stared at him. "Koh the Face-Stealer…" Zuko whispered. The face smirked and came completely out of the darkness. It was some kind of centipede-insect-creature. "So, what do you want with my daughter, Prince Zuko?" asked Koh._

_ Ka suddenly appeared beside Koh, her face expressionless as well. "Ka?" Zuko asked, reaching out to her, but she took a step back. "You betrayed me!" she screamed at the top of her lungs._

_ "Wha…? I didn't-!" Zuko started, but Ka cut him off by earthbending him into the ceiling. He groaned and looked up at her. Koh smirked and slid around. "Well done, my child," Koh complimented to Ka. She closed her eyes and a single tear slid down her face._

_ "I FAILED!"_

Zuko snapped awake in his bed and held his head with one hand. He heard a yell from Ka's room and quickly walked in. She was sweating and panting, her eyes wide. "Ka? Are you okay?" Zuko asked, walking closer to her. She looked at him once and nodded.

I mean, it's not like she had the same dream…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm, but if we continue heading northeast…" Jee said, pointing at a map as Zuko crossed his arms. A big ship overshadowed them. "What do they want!?" Zuko asked, annoyed.

"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho!" Iroh said excitedly, rubbing his hands together. Ka looked at him. Then she sighed. She didn't know why she stayed on this ship. There were opportunities to escape all over the place. Maybe it was because she was getting used to it. I mean, Iroh and all the crew members were nice to her. And then there was Zuko, who had been avoiding her lately.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The soldiers held out a wanted poster of Aang...and Ka. "The hunt for the Avatar and his Tauln has been given prime importance. All information regarding the two must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao," the head soldier said. The other two eyed Ka as if they recognized her.

And Ka's hair and eyes were a dead giveaway, so she tried her best to hide them.

"Zhao has been promoted? Well, good for him!" Iroh said, moving a tile to a certain spot, causing the other player to facepalm. "I've got nothing to report to Zhao. Now get off my ship and let us pass," Zuko said, rather calmly.

The two soldiers whispered something to the head, pointing and nudging their heads towards Ka. "Admiral Zhao is not letting ships in or out of this area," the head soldier said.

"OFF MY SHIP!" Zuko yelled. Ka flinched when the two soldiers got up close to her, observing her. The head and his two soldiers walked away.

"Excellent! I take the pot!" Iroh said, moving all the tiles towards him. "But you're only improving! I'm certain you will win if we…play again," he said. Zuko stared out the window.

Iroh chuckled and looked at Ka. "The soldiers nearly recognized you, Miss Ka. You need to disguise your hair," he said. Ka put her hands to her hair. "Like, dye it?" she asked. Iroh nodded once.

Ka walked towards her room and pulled out some kind of substance that could dye her hair black. She placed it all over her golden locks, reluctantly, and then washed her hands.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A while later, Iroh and Ka walked out onto the deck to see Zuko angrily shooting random fire blasts into mid-air. "Is everything okay? It's been almost an hour and you haven't given a man an order," Iroh said. "I don't care what they do!" Zuko cried, staring at Ka's newly-dyed hair.

"Don't give up hope yet. You can still find the Avatar before Zhao. You already have his Tauln," Iroh said. Ka stiffened.

"How, Uncle!? With Zhao's resources, it's only a matter of time before he captures the Avatar and his Tauln! My honor, my throne, my country…I'm about to lose them all…" Zuko said sadly. Ka stared at him and walked up beside him.

"Zuko?" she asked. Zuko looked at her and walked away. Ka sighed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ka walked up to Zuko's room and knocked on the door. "Uncle, I'm busy!" he yelled. "Ko-Ko," Ka said. "What do you want, Ka?" he asked, sighing. Ka opened the door to see him in a black suit, holding broadswords.

"…What are you wearing?" she asked. "I'm…training," Zuko replied. Then Ka sighed. "You're using the broadswords wrong," she said. He looked at her with confusion and then at the broadswords.

Ka took the swords out of his hands and waved them around gracefully. "You can't just force yourself into the moves. Each sword is like one half of yourself," She handed them back to Zuko. He tried to copy her footing, but she stopped him.

Ka grabbed his wrists and moved them around to the movements, causing his face to turn red. "You have to actually use the forms to your advantage. You can't just copy the moves, or your enemies can use your weakness to defeat you," Ka said. Zuko tried again, and then Ka nodded.

"So, what's the broadswords for?" she asked, smirking. "Nothing. Just…" Zuko stammered. "You're a terrible liar, you know," Ka stated.

Zuko sighed. "I'm going somewhere," he replied. Ka quirked an eyebrow at him. "Where?"

"I'm…going to save the Avatar from Zhao," he whispered. Ka gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "THAT'S WHAT THAT FEELING WAS!" she exclaimed. Zuko looked at her with confusion.

"A couple minutes ago, I felt really uncomfortable and fearful!" Ka said, running her fingers through her hair.

"I have to go with you!" It surprised Zuko that she didn't question why he was going to save the Avatar. He shook his head firmly. "No, I'm not going to risk anything," Zuko said.

Ka scowled and pushed him. "It's my job to protect him!" she yelled, stomping her foot childishly. Zuko stifled a snicker and narrowed his eyes. "No!" he yelled back.

"UGH! You better keep him save, or you're the one who's going to need saving," Ka warned and stomped away. From the look in her eyes, Zuko could tell she was dead serious.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Later that night, Ka was lying in her room, her arms crossed and an angry expression on her face. Zuko walked in and looked at her. "So, did you save Aang?" she asked without looking at him.

"Uh…yeah…he got away," he said awkwardly. Ka looked at him and sighed. "Thank the Spirits!" she exclaimed and jumped up. Zuko stared at her. "Well, goodnight," Ka said and hugged him.

Zuko stumbled back in surprise, but hesitantly hugged her back. Ka let go and Zuko quickly walked out of the room.

**A/N: SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! My mom isn't letting me watch TV while I write, plus I don't have internet, so I have to go to McDonalds to update and my online school shit….so….yeah! SOWWY!**


	11. Falling

**A/N: I don't own anything except my OCs.**

_"Father, this is Zuko," Ka introduced. Zuko was standing face-to-face with Koh. He hesitantly extended his hand, and Koh revealed the rest of his body. Zuko yelled out in surprise and stumbled back. "Holy-!" he started._

_ Ka looked at her father and smiled. "So this is the boy who captured you…" Koh slithered around Zuko, and he looked around awkwardly. "Yes, but we've become friends over time, Father," Ka informed, putting a hand on Zuko's shoulder._

_ Koh said nothing and stared daggers at Zuko. "Child, may I speak to Prince Zuko alone?" he asked. Ka bowed once and walked out of the room. Koh then glared back at Zuko, and he jumped._

_ "If you hurt my precious daughter, I will not hesitate to hurt you. Or maybe Ka will hurt you herself…" Koh warned, and Zuko pursed his lips. Ka then walked back in and smiled brightly._

_ Koh shot Zuko a look._

Zuko snapped awake and yelled out in frustration. That was the fifth time he's had a dream about Ka and her father!

He walked out of his room and saw Ka playing Pai Sho with Iroh. She took a sip of tea and her dyed-black hair was tied in a bun. Zuko stared at her for a moment and turned his attention back to the Avatar.

Ka was holding the tile she had in her hands extremely tight, and it broke into pieces. "Miss Ka, that's the sixth one you've broken. Is something troubling you?" Iroh asked.

She took the tea cup in her hands and took a sip, clenching it tightly. She drained it and then held it so tight, that it broke.

"Sorry, Iroh," she said, burying her face in her hands. Zuko looked at her.

"Something…something is going to happen…" she mumbled. Iroh put a hand on her shoulder. Zuko, and the rest of the crew, gasped when Ka's back suddenly arched and her eyes glowed bright red.

Zhao held his fist towards the bag with the Moon Spirit, La, in it. "Zhao! Don't," Aang said, putting his hands up. Ka remained in a fighting stance, ready to protect her Avatar and the Spirits if necessary. "It's my destiny. To destroy the moon, and the Water Tribe!" Zhao said.

"Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe. It'll hurt everyone. Even you," Ka stated firmly, narrowing her eyes. She looked back once at where Zuko was tied up, and saw that he wasn't there. Her heart dropped, but she turned her attention back to Zhao.

"General Iroh. Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?" Zhao questioned mockingly. Ka looked over at Iroh.

"I'm no traitor, Zhao. The Fire Nation needs the moon too. We all depend on the balance! Whatever you do to that Spirit, I'll unleash upon you ten-fold! Let it go, now!" Iroh yelled. Ka gaped at him. She had never seen him so angry.

Zhao closed his eyes and let the Moon Spirit go. Then he slashed his hand through the air, sending fire to the Spirit. The moon disappeared, and Ka yelled out angrily. "NO!" she screamed, blasting fire at Zhao, along with Iroh.

He snuck away, and Aang put a hand on Ka's shoulder.

When Ka opened her eyes, she saw Zuko. "Are you alright?" Iroh asked. Ka blinked for a couple moments and looked at her hands. "The moon will disappear…" she whispered and sat up.

Zuko and Iroh looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Zuko asked. Ka didn't say anything and stood up.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking around.

"In your room."

"…Oh…" Ka placed her hands on her head and screamed. Zuko jumped up, reaching his hand out. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked.

Zuko and Iroh were so confused. Ka had a look of hatred in her eyes. "I'm going to get some calming tea," Iroh stated and quickly walked out of the room.

"Ka, what's wrong with you!?" Zuko yelled just as the door shut. Ka screamed out again. She was completely insane.

"I FAILED! I LET YOU CAPTURE ME! I-I…I'M NOT DOING MY JOB!" she shrieked, banging on the walls and the doors. Her eyes were still red.

"Ka, this isn't you!" Zuko yelled, grabbing her wrist. Her eyes suddenly went back to their normal purple color and she sighed, dropping into his arms. She stuttered and tried to stand up. Zuko held her in place and looked at her, brushing her dark hair out of her face.

"I-I'm…I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Go for it, Zuko, one part of his mind said. No, Zuko, she's the Avatar's Tauln, the other part of his mind said.

Zuko yelled out in anger and placed his lips on hers. Ka widened her eyes and stiffened. He quickly pulled away to see Ka's surprised expression. She was blushing madly and immediately put a hand to her lips.

Zuko stammered, but Ka kissed him back, cupping his face.

Spirits, what was she doing!? This was the guy who wanted to take her and Aang into the clutches of the freaking Fire Lord!

Zuko kissed her back and put his hands around her waist. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

Iroh opened the door quietly and smirked. "Well, I see Miss Ka has calmed down now!" he exclaimed loudly, causing the two teens to quickly pull away.

Ka quickly ran out, her face red. Iroh smiled brightly at his nephew, knowing that he had fallen for the Avatar's Tauln.

**Me: A little early for their first kiss? Maybe. **

**Ka: Wait…I DID WHAT!?**

**Me: You kissed Zuko. Don't worry…more kisses will endure.**

**My Best Friend, Jasmine: Wait, what about when Zuko betrays them and joins his—**

**Me: *clamps hand over Jasmine's mouth* SHUT THE FUCK UP! WE'RE NOT AT BOOK 2 YET!**

**Jasmine: *in a whisper* Will Ka be really upset?**

**Me: Well, duh!**

**Ka: What about me?!**

**Me: NOTHIN'! And to my fans, "fans" meaning people who actually bothered to read this, things will be awkward between Ka and Zuko for a while. Well, she'll be reunited with the Gaang next chapter….But she'll meet Zuko again. OH! And P.P.S, I don't have any virtual crap of Book 2 or Book 3, so it'll be a rather long wait for those. SORRY!**


	12. Reunited…THANK GOD!

Things have been awkward between Zuko and Ka since the two shared a kiss. They've been avoided each other and when they have to be in the same room, they've been apart as much as humanely possible.

Then a strange woman on a shirshu came on the ship. "Get back! We're after a stowaway!" she cried, snapping her whip.

"There are no stowaways on my ship!" Zuko yelled defiantly. Ka blinked and looked at the woman.

The shirshu ripped off a piece of the floor and sniffed inside the room. A man dressed in green came rushing out, and the shirshu snapped its tongue against his neck. He fell on the ground, completely still.

"He's paralyzed…"

"The toxins will wear off in about an hour. But by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money," the woman said, throwing the stowaway on the shirshu and climbing on.

"But how did you find him on my ship?" Zuko asked. The woman smirked and patted her shirshu.

"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away," she stated proudly.

"Well, I'm impressed…" Iroh said, stroking his beard. The woman snapped her whip and the shirshu ran off.

"Very impressed…"

Zuko looked at Iroh in disgust. Ka began to walk past Zuko, but stopped and let him go through first. He looked at her once and quickly walked by.

"Ka, is something troubling you?" Iroh asked Ka. She hesitated. Traditional Taulns did not lie, except to protect their Avatar.

"…It's about Zuko," she admitted. Iroh nodded. "I noticed that you two have been avoided each other," he commented. Ka sighed and buried her face in her hands. Iroh put a hand on his shoulder.

"I have a feeling that Prince Zuko feels the same way," he said. Ka looked up. "Wha-? Really?" she asked, hope rising in her heart. Alright, she admitted it. She liked Zuko…a lot.

Iroh nodded and he walked away.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Zuko got an idea. He took Iroh with him, and Ka barely managed to catch up. "Ka, go back!" Zuko ordered. She crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Like it or not, Zuko, you're stuck with me," she said and smirked at him. Zuko blushed and the three walked towards some kind of bar.

There was a shirshu outside. Ka tilted her head and walked up to it as Zuko and Iroh walked inside the bar. As she finally managed to get the shirshu to trust her, a drunken man stumbled out of the bar and smiled at Ka.

"H-hey, girlie! Why don't…you spend some time with a man?" he asked, stumbling as he walked over to her. Ka scowled and bended water from her pouch and blasted the man against a tree. He passed out and Ka went back to petting the shirshu.

Zuko and Iroh walked back out with the woman, who introduced herself as June. "Wow, girl. Nyla doesn't take to strangers real well!" she exclaimed in surprise, smirking.

Ka smirked back at her. "I need you to find someone," Zuko said, interuppting their conversation. He pulled out Katara's necklace and Ka frowned.

"What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you?" June asked and then looked over at Ka. "Is she not good enough for ya? You're way better without him, girl," she said.

Ka blushed heavily and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. "It's not the girl I'm after. It's the bald monk she's traveling with," Zuko corrected, his expression and tone not fazing.

"Whatever you say."

"If you find him, I'll consider the damages to my ship paid for," Zuko offered. June scoffed. "Forget it," she said and began to climb on Nyla.

"We'll also pay your weight in gold!" Iroh exclaimed. June stopped and walked up to Iroh. "Make it your weight and we got a deal," she said. Iroh laughed.

"You got it!"

"Get on!" June ordered, snatching the necklace from Zuko's hands and holding it in front of Nyla. As she sniffed it, Ka got on behind Zuko. He stiffened when he felt her against him, but said nothing.

June jumped on and the shirshu charged forward. Ka had to wrap her arms around Zuko tightly to make sure she didn't fall off. Zuko looked back at her and then towards the front. He sighed.

OOOOOOOOOO

They went to many places as they tried to find Aang. An herbalist on top of a mountain, a fortuneteller, and many others. Ka was beginning to get tired. She rested her head on Zuko's back and closed her eyes.

Zuko looked back at Ka, who was sleeping. He sighed again and looked at Iroh. "It doesn't hurt to love another person," his uncle said and then looked towards the front.

_But she's the Avatar's Tauln_, Zuko wanted to say.

They suddenly got through some kind of town and the nuns screamed, waking up Ka. She mumbled something and went back to sleep. "We're getting close," June stated and cracked her whip.

They finally got to Katara and Sokka.

Katara narrowed her eyes in confusion when she thought she saw Ka sleeping on Zuko's back. No, the Ka they knew had gold hair. This girl had dark hair, but the same features as Ka. The dark-haired girl moaned and opened her eyes.

They were purple.

"Ka!?" Katara cried. Ka looked at them and smiled. "Hi!" she exclaimed happily. Katara widened her eyes. She seemed completely different.

"So this is your girlfriend. No wonder she left. She's way too pretty for you," June said as Zuko jumped off. Ka groaned and crossed her arms. She was still tired.

"Where is he!? Where's the Avatar!?" Zuko demanded.

"We split up. He's long gone," Sokka replied. Ka stiffened. Great. Now how was she supposed to get back to him?

"How stupid do you think I am?"

"Pretty stupid. RUN!" Sokka yelled, grabbing Katara's wrist and running. The shirshu snapped both of their necks with its tongue and they fell to the ground. "Sorry!" Ka whispered to them.

"Great! Now what are we supposed to do!?" Zuko asked, clenching his fists in frustration. "Wait, it's seeking a different scent. Perhaps something that the Avatar held," June said as Nyla sniffed something on Sokka's pack.

It was a map. It rolled on the ground and Zuko picked up both of them throwing them behind Ka. "Sorry! I have no choice!" Ka whispered to them as Zuko jumped in front of her again.

As the shirshu ran forwards and jumped, Zuko grabbed Ka's waist with his hand so she wouldn't fall. She blushed and Katara and Sokka both raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"What's it doing!? It's just going around in a circle!" Zuko yelled. Ka looked up to see Aang flying on his glider. Nyla jumped up and tried to reach him, knocking them all back.

Zuko fell on top of Ka, and they stared at each other for a moment. Then Zuko furiously got up and charged towards Aang.

"Whew…you got this, Aang!" Ka cheered and went over to Katara and Sokka, pulling them against the wall.

"Oh, Ka! Glad to see you're okay!" Katara breathed out in relief.

"What's up with your hair?" Sokka asked. Ka looked up at her hair and shrugged. "It was the only way that Zhao couldn't recognize me," she replied.

Ka tried to use waterbending to get their feeling back. "I think I'm getting some feeling back!" Sokka cried happily, moving his wrist slightly. Suddenly, the roof toppled on him.

"…Ow…"

Ka looked up to see Aang and Zuko fighting. She jumped up and got into a fighting stance beside Aang. Zuko stopped in his tracks for a moment, but began charging again.

The two jumped on the well and Zuko tried to kick Aang off. Ka sighed, knowing that Aang was okay, then went back over to Katara and Sokka.

The shirshu stopped her and kicked her against the wall, causing her to hit her head and black out.

"Ka!" Aang, Katara, and Sokka all yelled in unison. The siblings tried to move, but then the nuns brought the perfume under their noses. Katara stood up and rushed to Ka's side.

"She's okay. She's just passed out," she said in relief.

"That thing sees with its nose. Let's give it something to look at," Sokka said. The nun looked confused. "The perfume?"

Sokka nodded. The nuns and Sokka all pushed the perfume on the ground and Katara waterbended it on top of Nyla. The shirshu cried out and shook its head furiously. It hit June and Zuko with its tongue and ran away.

Aang walked up to Ka and looked at her. "C'mon. Let's go," he said. Sokka picked up Ka in his arms and carried her on top of Appa. The black substance in her hair was beginning to wear out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Zuko managed to look over at Ka, who was blacked out against a wall. He saw the Water Tribe boy picked her up and felt a pang of jealously in his chest. The boy put Ka on the bison and they flew away.

"Uncle? I didn't see you get hit with the tongue," Zuko said when he looked at Iroh. He shushed him and smiled. June was rested on his chest. She opened her eyes furiously.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ka groaned and woke up to see that she was on Appa again. "Welcome back!" Katara exclaimed, embracing her. She smiled and looked at them.

"Ugh. What happened?"

"You were blacked out! Oh, Spirits! What happened while you were on Zuko's ship!? Did he hurt you!?" Sokka asked. Ka looked and them and shook her head, a blush forming on her face.

Katara noticed this. "What happened?" she asked. Ka stammered and ran her fingers through her hair and looked at her hand. The black substance was wearing off.

"Um…nothing much. I was a prisoner, and then he gave me my own room…just…n-normal stuff!" Ka said, totally lying about the "normal stuff" part. What happened on Zuko's ship was far from normal.

"I saw you with Zuko on the crazy mole thing! You were…sleeping on him," Katara commented. Aang looked at Ka in confusion.

"I was tired."

"Oh, really? Are you sure nothing else happened?" Sokka asked suspiciously, leaning in close to her. Ka's mind immediately filled with images of Zuko leaning in to kiss her.

"YES! LEAVE ME ALONE!" she yelled, her face red. She crossed her arms and huffed. Aang put a hand on her shoulder. Ka looked up at Katara.

"I wish I could give you a little piece of home, Katara," Aang suddenly said.

"I'll be okay."

"Still. Just a little trinket. Maybe something like…this!?" Aang said, holding out Katara's necklace. She gasped and put it around her neck. "Aang! How did you get this?" she asked.

"Zuko asked me to be sure I got it to you," Aang joked. Katara laughed. "Oh, that's so sweet of Zuko! Would you give him a kiss for me when you see him?" she asked. Ka clenched her fists quietly.

"I think Ka should be the one kissing Zuko," Aang said, but Katara planted a kiss on his cheek anways. Aang blushed and twiddled his thumbs.

"WHAT!?" Ka shrieked in a high-pitched voice, her face red. The others laughed, and Ka began to laugh.

"Wow, Ka. I've never heard you laugh before," Aang commented. Ka blushed again and shrugged.

"Lemme guess. You laughed when Zuko declared his love for you," Sokka joked.

"SHUT UP!"

"You laughed at one of his jokes?" Aang giggled.

"NO! SHUT UP!"

Ka was blushing madly. She clenched her fists and glared daggers at them. The others laughed. "Calm down, Ka. It was just a joke!" Sokka said. Ka crossed her arms. "Whatever," she muttered and looked away


	13. AN 2

**Okay, I'm sorry this isn't an update…but…I need some help here. I want to write a Rise of the Guardians fanfic SO BAD! I got the idea, the plot, and everything else…but should I even write it? Please tell me what you think.**


	14. The Deserter

**A/N: I don't own anything except ma OCs.**

**OH MAH GAWD! CAN YOU BELIEVE I GOT THIS CHAPTER DONE!?**

_Koh slithered around a beautiful woman holding twin baby girls with tuffs of golden hair. The younger twin had bright purple eyes while the older twin had green eyes. All the past Avatars circled around the woman and gazed down at the babies. In unison, they all pointed to the older twin, and the baby was ripped away from the woman's arms and set in front of Koh._

_ "This, Spirit Koh, is the true Tauln," the past Avatars said in unison._

_ Koh gazed down at the baby, who was crying and sobbing heavily. Her skin was pale and she suddenly choked. The beautiful woman dropped to her knees and crawled over to her baby. She felt the girl's neck and gasped softly. "Wha…? She's…" she started._

_ It was impossible! The next Avatar's Tauln was just suddenly gone. Koh lifted his head away from the green-eyed baby, who was no longer moving. He slithered around the purple-eyed baby, who was giggling on the ground._

_ The woman held her dead baby close to her chest and sobbed. "I'm sorry, Yukun," one of the past Avatars said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "No…no…no…not my beautiful Keni…" the woman whispered as she held the cold child to her chest._

_ "What of the fate of the Avatar's Tauln?" Avatar Kyoshi asked, looking up at her past lives. Koh pondered for a moment. "What about the younger child?" he asked. _

_ "But she was not chosen! The older child was!" one of the Avatars protested. Koh nodded once. "Yes, but the Chosen Tauln is gone. There must be another Tauln for the airbender…" he said, slithering around the child._

_ The woman looked at the father of her twins and sniffled. _

_ "But…Ka was not chosen. She is not meant to be the Tauln! The entire cycle could fall out of balance!" the angry Avatar cried. Yukun brushed a strand of dark hair away from her tanned face. _

_ "Is the younger child a waterbender?" Avatar Kyoshi asked calmly. Yukun hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Then it is settled. We shall grant this child with the gift of the elements," Kyoshi said. _

_ The Avatars each placed a hand on the purple-eyed baby and their eyes and tattoos (if they had any) began to glow. The baby's eyes began to glow as well and Koh nodded slowly._

_ "Tauln Ka, may you fulfill your destiny," Yukun mumbled, tears streaming down her face._

Ka awoke with a gasp. "Ka? What's wrong?" Aang asked, feeling her move. She put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Nothing…Just a bad dream," she replied.

"You wanna tell me about it?"

Ka looked at her Avatar and shook her head. "No. It…it's fine," she replied quickly and turned her back to him. Aang shrugged and went back to sleep.

But Ka couldn't sleep. All she could think about was what they said. "But she was not chosen! The older child was!" ran through her mind.

She looked at her hair. It was golden again, but slightly darker due to the black substance.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"This should give us a good idea of what's around here." Katara said as she walked towards the small kiosk at the crossroads they had followed the path to.

Sokka flipped a small pouch over, only to find it empty. "See if you can find a menu. I'm starving!" he exclaimed, wiping his mouth. Ka looked over at the kiosk to see a poster of some kind of festival.

"I bet we'll find something to eat here, the Fire Day's Festival! Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, benders, magicians...This would be a great place for us to study some real firebenders!" Aang read from the kiosk, turning to the girls.

Ka glanced over at Sokka, who was observing the kiosk from the opposite side. "You might wanna rethink that. Look at this," he stated, pointing to a wanted poster of Aang and Ka.

"Hey, a poster of me! And you too, Ka!" Aang exclaimed.

"A wanted poster! This is bad," Sokka stated. Ka nodded once in agreement. On Zuko's ship, the soldiers with the poster had nearly recognized her. What if they did? What if she had been taken away? What if—

What? You wanna walk into a Fire Nation town where they're all fired-up with their ... you know, fire?" Sokka asked in an opposing tone.

Wait, they were actually going to go in there!?

"Wait a minute, Aang. I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Ka interjected, a look of concern on her face.

"We'll wear disguises, and if it looks like trouble, we'll leave," Katara stated, walking towards Appa. Aang followed her and Ka sighed.

"Right. Because we always leave before we get into trouble," Sokka muttered sarcastically.

OOOOO

"You guys stay out of sight here while we go to the festival," Aang said, and then turned to Katara, Sokka, and Ka. "Ready disguises!"

Sokka and Katara put on their black cloaks while Aang pulled his orange shawl over his head with a smile on his face.

"It's like you're a whole different person," Sokka said sarcastically, crossing his arms as Katara giggled.

"What about me?" Ka asked as she looked for something in Appa's saddle to wear. Katara walked up to her and thought for a moment.

"Here. Use this cloth to wrap your hair up," she said, taking out a simple blue cloth and tying her hair up, concealing it completely. Ka blinked at how close she was.

Once again, she imagined Zuko walking towards her. Katara finally backed up and smiled.

Ka smirked back at her and they walked into the town. It was so lively and everyone was happy.

Ka noticed that everyone was wearing some kind of mask. "I think we need some new disguises," she stated, looking around at everyone.

Where are we gonna get masks like that?" Sokka asked, sighing. Ka pursed her lips and turned around.

"Get your genuine Fire Festival masks here!"

"That was surprisingly easy."

The group looked at the masks. As the other three put on a few, Ka stared at one of a white-faced demon with red eyes. She blinked at it and picked it up.

Ka hesitantly put on the white demon mask and smirked. She turned to the others and saw that Sokka was wearing a sad, blue mask, Aang wearing a happy mask, and Katara wearing one of a painted lady.

"Hey, there's some food," Aang said, pointing to a vendor nearby.

"Finally!" Sokka ran up to the shop keeper. "What do you have?"

Flaming fire flakes! Best in town," the keeper replied, holding out a bag of red, steaming flakes.

"I'll take 'em!" Sokka cried, snatching the bag. Sokka gobbled down the fire flakes, but they were so hot that he freaked out and tried to fan his tongue. "Aaahhh! Hot! Hot!"

"Flaming fire flakes", hot? What do you know?" Katara said sarcastically, crossing her arms.

"Hey, look at this," Aang said as they walked towards some kind of puppet show. Ka's smile grew. She had never seen a puppet show before.

"Don't worry loyal citizens! No one can surprise the Fire Lord!" exclaimed the puppet that was supposed to be the Fire Lord.

As an Earth Kingdom general puppet popped up behind the Fire Lord's puppet, with a rock ready to attack, the Fire Nation kids gasped and covered their eyes. "Oh no! Look out!" The Fire Lord puppet blew fire from its mouth, burning the other to ashes.

Ka widened her eyes.

"Aang, hold on! Where are we going?" she asked as Aang began to wander away.

"I don't know, but there's a big crowd so it must be good," Aang replied simply as the rest of them followed him.

"Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution," Sokka muttered. Ka stiffened slightly. The Fire Nation performed executions? Really?

They watched as the performer used the flames to do amazing tricks. "I gotta learn that trick!" Aang exclaimed, clenching his fist in excitement.

"Thank you! For my next trick I need a volunteer from the audience!" the performer exclaimed.

"Oh! Oh! Me! Me!" Aang cried, waving his hand in the air childishly.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Sokka demanded in a stern tone while pulling his arm down.

"I want to get a closer look," Aang replied, frowning.

"It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves," Ka said to him, crossing her arms.

"How about you, little lady?" the performer asked, pointing to Ka. She gulped and backed up slowly, shaking her head.

"Awww, she's shy. Leeet's give her some encouragement, folks!" the performer exclaimed. A little kid shoved Ka forward and she was forced to walk up on the stage.

"Awww! That could've been me," Aang muttered jealously, crossing his arms and looking away.

"This next trick is called "Taming the Dragon!" The performer tied Ka to a chair and lifted her chin. "You will be my captured princess!" he said and created a fire whip, wrapping it around some kind of fire dragon.

"Don't worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!" the performer exclaimed. Ka whirled her head around at the dragon.

"We gotta help her!" she heard Aang exclaim.

"No, we don't want to make a scene!" Sokka cried, basically reading her mind.

"The rope, it's breaking!" the performer exclaimed, purposely sending the flaming dragon towards her. She cringed and closed her eyes, turning her head away. Aang jumped up and sent a blast of airbending towards the dragon, dispersing the flames is a ray of colors while losing his mask and blowing both Ka's hair cloth and mask off. "Hey, you tryin' to upstage me, kid?" the performer whispered, glaring at him.

The crowd booed at them as Sokka untied Ka. Aang began to perform a goofy dance and Ka rolled her eyes.

"Hey, those kids are the Avatar and Tauln!" a random citizen cried, jabbing a finger towards them. Aang stopped in his tracks as Katara and Sokka removed their masks.

"I think it's time to go."

"Follow me! I can get you outta here!" cried a masked man. The group hesitated, but looked back at the guards that were chasing them. They followed the man through the streets and alleys.

"There they are!" a guard exclaimed, pointing towards them.

Chey threw a series of explosives at the Fire Nation soldiers, sending some of them back.

"Over there!" another guard cried.

"I'm calling Appa!" Aang cried, taking out the bison whistle and blowing it fiercely.

"I hope he can really hear that bison whistle!" Sokka exclaimed as they ran.

"This way!" he cried, making a sharp turn. He came running back, followed by guards. "Okay! Not this way!"

They made another turn, but the way they came was blocked by guards. The man threw another smoke bomb and then ran past them into another alley. The group came across another dead end where there was an enormous supply of fireworks.

"Appa! Down here!" Aang exclaimed when Appa finally arrived.

Appa landed between the kids and the guards, with his backside facing the guards. Appa airbended a gale force wind which resulted in the guards getting blown out of sight. As the guards ran back into the alley, Appa took the group on his back and began to fly away. The man bit the top off a bomb to light it. He threw it at the fireworks supply and it blew up, creating a beautiful display of fireworks.

As they flew away, the man removed his hood. "Nice touch setting off the fireworks," Aang complimented.

"You really know your explosives..." Sokka said, quite impressed.

"I'm familiar," the man said, turning to him. Ka noticed the features of a Fire Nation citizen and pursed her lips.

"You're a Fire Nation Soldier!" Sokka exclaimed in surprise.

"Was. My name's Chey."

OOOOO

The group settled down and made camp. Ka sat next to Katara and ran her finger through her golden hair. "I serve a man. More than a man really, he's a myth, but he's real, a living legend, Jeong-Jeong the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation general, or wait, was he an admiral?" Chey explained, thinking for a moment.

"He was very highly ranked, we get it," Sokka muttered, not amused.

Chey didn't seem to notice his annoyance. "Yeah! Way up there! But he couldn't take the madness any more. He's the first person ever to leave the army - and live. I'm the second, but you don't get to be a legend for that. That's okay though. Jeong-Jeong's a firebending genius. Some say he's mad - but he's not! He's enlightened," Chey said, nodding his head.

"You mean there's a firebender out here who's not with the Fire Lord? We've gotta go see him! He can train us!" Aang exclaimed, standing up in excitement.

"We're not gonna go find some crazy firebender!" Sokka snapped, standing up also. Ka sighed and stood up.

Chey stood up to gesture, quite annoyed. "He's not crazy! He's a genius! And he's the perfect person to train the Avatar and his Tauln! That's why I followed you into the festival!"

"Look, thanks for the help, but we're leaving for the North Pole in the morning," Sokka said, crossing his arms.

"Sokka, this could be our only chance to meet a firebending master who would actually be willing to teach us," Aang said firmly, his face growing serious.

"It can't hurt just to talk to him," Katara said, shrugging slightly.

"That's what you said about going to the festival! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?!" Sokka cried, gesturing dramatically. He turned around, but the group was suddenly surrounded by men wearing straw hats, light armor, wearing tribal make up, and wielding spears.

"Don't move…"

OOOOO

Jeong-Jeong told you not to look for Avatar!" the tribesman said angrily as they led them towards their settlement.

"Hold on, you know these guys?" Sokka asked.

Oh yeah! Lin Yee's an old buddy! Right, Lin Yee?"

"Shut up! Keep moving," Lin Yee ordered, slapping Chey's hand away and shoving them forward.

"Go on. He sees you only," Lin Yee said when they arrived towards a little cottage.

"Oh, that's okay, we can chat later."

"Is that where Jeong-Jeong is? We need to talk to him right away!" Aang exclaimed, looking towards the cottage and trying to walk forwards, but Lin Yee stopped him with his spear.

"No! You wait there," he said and then shoved Chey forward. "Go now!"

"Don't worry! Everything'll be fine. He's a great man, great man!" Chey said to himself as he slowly walked towards the cottage.

OOOOO

Chey left Jeong-Jeong's cottage. He arrived back where Aang and everyone except Ka were asleep. Everyone instantly woke up when he walked in.

"What happened? Can we see Jeong-Jeong now?" Aang asked anxiously.

Chey looked downcast, like a child after he had been scolded. "He won't see you. He's very angry that I brought you here. He wants you to leave immediately," he replied.

Finally! Let's hit the road," Sokka said, standing up and stretching.

"Why won't he see us?" Aang asked, glancing once at Ka.

"He says you're not ready. Says you haven't mastered waterbending and earthbending yet," Chey replied.

"Wait, how does he know that?"

"He saw the way you walked into camp. He could tell!" Chey replied, causing Ka to roll her eyes and sigh.

"I'm going in, anyway!" Aang suddenly said, storming out. Ka quickly jumped up and followed him.

Aang and Ka walked to Jeong-Jeong's cottage. He took a deep breath, parted the curtain, and walked into the darkness. Ka followed him and saw a figure meditating on the ground.

"Get. Out."

"Master, we need to learn firebending," Aang said as he hesitantly walked in and sat in front of the candles. Ka sat next to him and tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

"Only a fool seeks his own destruction," Jeong-Jeong said without looking at him.

We're the Avatar and the Tauln, it's our destiny to—"

"Destiny? What would a boy and a girl know of destiny? If a fish lives its whole life in this river, does he know the river's destiny? No! Only that it runs on and on out of his control! He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end. He cannot imagine the ocean!"

Okay, but it's the Avatar and the Tauln's duty to master all of the bending disciplines," Aang stated in a matter-of-factly manner.

"To master the bending disciplines, you must first master discipline itself. But you have no interest in this, so I have no interest in you! Now, get out!"

"Please, we have to learn. This could be our only chance!"

"Are you deaf? How can I teach you if you refuse to listen? Before learning firebending you must learn water and earth. Water is cool and soothing, earth is steady and stable, but fire, fire is alive! It breathes, it grows, without the bender, a rock will not throw itself! But fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it! That is its destiny! You are not ready! You are too weak!"

At the final gesture, the candles flared up around Jeong-Jeong and illuminated the entire room. Then, a vision for Jeong-Jeong began, as one candle was lit in front of Jeong-Jeong. A tree was in the background behind the Deserter. In front of him, stood Avatar Roku and his airbending Tauln.

"You think we are weak?"

"Avatar Roku! Tauln Amaya! No! No! I did not mean that," Jeong-Jeong cried, lowering his head.

"We have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes. Now, we must do it once again. You will teach the Avatar and his Tauln firebending," Roku said, lighting the nearby tree on fire.

"Yes, yes. I will teach you," Jeong-Jeong finally said.

"Really!? That's great!" Aang threw his hands in the air childishly and Ka giggled at Jeong-Jeong's groan.

OOOOO

In the morning outside of Jeong Jeong's cottage, Sokka was sitting on a boulder by the river, fishing, Katara was practicing waterbending, and Aang and Ka were standing on a flat stone in the river, facing Jeong-Jeong in front of the cottage.

Aang stood bandy-legged while Ka actually listened to what Jeong-Jeong was instructing. "Widen your stance." Aang and Ka both did as they were told.

"Wider!" Aang did so. "Bend your knees. Now, concentrate," Jeong-Jeong instructed. Ka took a deep breath and tried to focus her energy on the sun. Aang made his concentration clear on his face. "Good, good!"

"Wait! What do I do now?"

Jeong-Jeong turned around. "Silence! Talking is not concentrating! Look at your friend, is she talking?" Jeong-Jeong gestured to both Katara and Ka, and then pointed to Sokka. "Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what he's doing!"

"Hey!"

"But what am I concentrating on?" Aang asked.

"Feel the heat of the sun. It is the greatest source of fire. Yet, it is in complete balance with nature!" Jeong-Jeong replied, gesturing towards the sun. Ka sighed. The way he spoke reminded her of Iroh. She would miss him.

She would even miss Zuko.

"So when do I get to make some fire?" Aang asked eagerly, grinning at the Deserter.

"Concentrate!"

Aang breathed in and felt embarrassed as Katara and Sokka laughed at him from behind. He turned to look at them, but they stopped instantly, and then tried to look innocent. He blushed as he faced the front again.

Aang glanced over at Ka, who was breathing deeply.

OOOOO

"Are we coming up here so I don't burn anything with my fire blasts?" Aang asked, grinning as the three walked up a mountain.

"No fire yet."

"What?!" Aang cried in disappointment and surprise.

"Power in firebending comes from the breath. That is why you must master proper breath control," Jeong-Jeong explained.

"You brought us up here to breathe?"

Jeong-Jeong ignored his comment. "Assume your stance," he ordered without looking at him. Aang and Ka both listened to their master. "Wider!"

"You're not even—"

"Wider! Now, inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth," Jeong-Jeong said as Aang opened his mouth to say something. "Without talking!" Aang closed his mouth and took a deep breath.

"Good. Keep going," Jeong-Jeong said and walked down the mountain, leaving the two in solitary.

OOOOO

After a few hours, Aang began to get frustrated. Ka was too, but she didn't let it show. "Ugh! How long do we have to do this!?" Aang cried, throwing his hands in the air to show his anger.

"Be patient," Ka stated, looking towards him and not breaking her stance. But Aang was already storming off to go see Jeong-Jeong. Ka sighed and resumed her stance.

But memories of her and Zuko just flooded her mind.

_Zuko yelled out in anger and placed his lips on hers. Ka widened her eyes and stiffened. He quickly pulled away to see Ka's surprised expression. She was blushing madly and immediately put a hand to her lips. Zuko stammered and blushed, but Ka kissed him, cupping his face. _

_ Zuko kissed her back and put his hands around her waist. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer._

Ka snapped her eyes open and placed a hand to her lips. She could still feel a slight tingle when she remembered Zuko kissing her. Her face flushed and she sighed.

OOOOO

Ka left the mountain to find Aang and found him cheering in front of Jeong-Jeong. "I mean, let us begin," Aang said, straightening and bowing in a formal manner. Ka stood next to him and watched as Jeong-Jeong snatched two leaves from the air and handed them to both of them, burning the center.

"Concentrate on the fire. I want you two to keep the flame from reaching the edges of the leaf for as long as you can," Jeong-Jeong instructed. Aang sighed and did so. Ka looked at the leaf and concentrated on the sun, taking deep breaths.

"Master! There is trouble!" a tribesman cried, running up. "What's going on!?" Aang asked.

"Concentrate on your leaf!" Jeong-Jeong ordered as he ran away.

"This is the worst firebending instruction ever! All he does is leave us for hours to concentrate or breathe!" Aang cried angrily.

"I'm sure there's a good reason," Katara stated calmly.

"But I'm ready to do so much more!" Aang suddenly remembered to concentrate on his leaf and got into the same stance Ka was currently in. She watched him as he took deep breaths. Moments later, the leaf burned, creating a small flame.

Ka widened her eyes. "I did it! I made fire!" Aang exclaimed excitedly.

"Aang, that's great, but you should take it slow," Ka said, reaching out to touch his shoulder, but she recoiled back when Aang started tossing the flame between his hands. He then made a blast go in the opposite direction.

"Now that's firebending!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Aang, you'll hurt yourself!" Katara cried, reaching out towards him. "I wonder how that juggler did it…" Aang pondered. He extending his hands, sending the flames around him. He apparently didn't see Ka's arms and Katara's hands being burned until his smile faded.

Katara kneeled on the ground, holding her hands close to her stomach. Ka cried out in pain and looked at her arm. She had been right next to Aang. Her burn was a bit more severe.

"Katara! Ka! I'm sorry!" Aang cried, looking at both of them. Ka stumbled off the rock and sat beside Katara. Pain tears welled her eyes.

Sokka came running to the girls' side. "Katara!? Ka!? What's wrong!?" he cried in concern. "What did you do!?" he demanded angrily to Aang.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident! Katara, Ka, I'm so—"

Sokka interrupted Aang by tackling him. Ka tried to reach out, but she groaned in pain as tears spilled down her face.

"I told you we shouldn't mess around with this! Look what you did! You burned my sister and your Tauln!" Sokka cried angrily. He watched as Katara and Ka both ran away in unison.

OOOOO

Katara was crying in pain over the river. Ka held her arm and observed it. It would leave a scar if she didn't get it healed right away, which was pretty much impossible.

Then she gasped in realization. She had healing abilities. She looked over at Katara. She would heal her first. Ka watched as Katara placed her hands in the river and winced, but then sighed in relief.

Ka looked at the glowing water surrounding her hands and lifted them from the water. They were completely healed. Ka dipped her arm in the water as Jeong-Jeong walked up. The water glowed around her as well.

"You have healing abilities. The great benders of the Water Tribe sometimes have this ability. I've always wished I were blessed like you –free from this burning curse," he stated, sitting down next to them.

"But you're a great master. You have powers that I will never know!" Katara exclaimed.

"Water brings healing and life. But fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart…" Jeong-Jeong stated. Ka looked at her arm and sighed. It was completely healed.

Suddenly the water is front of them was blasted with flames. Jeong-Jeong got up and got into a defensive bending stance, breaking the flames that washed upon them.

"Go get your friends and flee! Do not come back here or you will all be destroyed. Hurry!" Jeong-Jeong ordered to Katara and Ka as they ran away.

OOOOO

"Katara! Ka! Are you all right?" Sokka asked when they ran up.

We're fine; we've got to get out of here. Where's Aang?" Katara asked. Sokka gestured towards the cottage. Ka set up Appa as Aang ran out of the cottage, obviously to get Jeong-Jeong.

She sighed and ran after him.

OOOOO

"Jeong-Jeong!" Aang cried as he and Ka ran up towards him. Ka scowled when she realized that it was Zhao who was here.

Jeong-Jeong was surrounded by firebenders. Aang and Ka topped short in horror as they closed in. Jeong-Jeong smirked and wrapped himself in a ball of flames. When the flames completely dissipate, Jeong-Jeong was nowhere to be seen.

"It's a trick! He's run off into the woods. Find him!" Zhao ordered angrily to his men. They ran off to find the Deserter and Zhao turned to Aang and Ka. "Let's find out what my old master has taught you."

"You were Jeong Jeong's student?!" Aang replied, shocked.

"Until I got bored," Zhao replied, throwing a fireball at them. Aang and Ka both dodged it.

"I see he taught you how to duck and run like a coward. But I doubt he showed you what a firebender is truly capable of!" Zhao threw another intense fireball and it exploded behind them.

"Whoa! Wild shot!" Aang cried.

"I'll show you wild!" Zhao roared angrily, throwing fireball after fireball. Aang looked over to the side where Zhao just burned.

"No self-control..." he said to himself and then smirked. Ka realized what he was thinking and smirked herself.

"Stand and fight!"

"Oh, were we fighting? I thought you were just getting warmed up!" Aang mocked, smirking deviously.

Zhao burned in anger at his remark. "I was!" he cried and fired more fireballs, but the pair both dodged them. Aang dodged them more swiftly while Ka had to literally jump out of the way. She wasn't an airbender yet.

Is that all you got? Man, they'll make anyone an admiral these days!" He nearly got burned, but he dodged it in time. He cupped his hands around his mouth to make his voice louder. "Ahoy! I'm Admiral Zhao!" he cried, shaking his butt towards Zhao. He got angry again and blew another blast towards Aang. Ka was watching from the sidelines.

Aang's got this.

I don't know why, but I thought you'd be better than Zuko," Aang mocked, looking disappointed. His eyes went wide as he laid on the deck fast enough to avoid being burnt.

He smirked before mocking Zhao's firebending. "Sloppy. Very sloppy," he said, jumping up.

"Nowhere to run now, you little smart mouth!" Zhao cried angrily, pointing his fist towards Aang.

"You've lost this battle," Aang stated. Zhao blew another fire blast, but Aang dodged it and landed on the deck in front of him.

"Are you crazy? You haven't thrown a single blow!" Zhao cried in enraged disbelief.

"No, but you have," Aang said, gesturing around to the blazing ships. "Jeong-Jeong said you had no restraint," he said as he jumped in the water. "Have a nice walk home!"

"Aang, come on! Let's go!" Sokka cried on Appa. Aang looked back at the river bank and jumped on Appa.

"Wait! Where's Jeong-Jeong?" he asked.

"He disappeared. They all did." Ka replied, looking down at the empty settlement.

"Aang, you're burned! Let me help you," Katara said, taking water from her pouch and surrounding her hand. She placed it carefully on his burn and took a deep breath. Ka watched in approval as the water glowed and healed his burn.

"Wow, that's good water."

"When did you learn that?" Sokka asked his sister. Katara shrugged nonchalantly.

"I guess I always knew," she replied simply.

"Oh... Well, then thanks for all the first aid over the years. Like when I fell into the greaseberry bramble. Or that time I had two fishhooks in my thumb!" Sokka cried sarcastically.

"Two?"

"He tried to get the first fishhook out with another fishhook," Katara replied, quite amused.

"Oh, and the time that mingsnake bit me! Thanks for healing that up. That was great. Really helpful."


	15. The Waterbending Master

**A/N: I don't own anything, except my OCs. I decided to skip "The Northern Air Temple". Just add Ka in there, and BOOM—Done.**

"I'm not one to complain, but can't Appa fly any higher?" Sokka, indeed, complained.

Sokka's words barely left his lips as Appa lost more altitude and his paws dragged through the water momentarily, before rising slightly again. Katara propped herself up on her elbows, staring out into space.

Ka was sitting next to Aang, closing her eyes and feeling the cool air around her. She had put her elegant Water Tribe coat back on.

"I have an idea! Why don't we all get on your back and you could fly us to the North Pole?!" Aang cried irritably, pointing at Sokka. Ka looked at them and shook her head once to remove any drowsiness.

"I'd _love_ to. Climb on everyone, Sokka's ready for takeoff," Sokka said, turning around and shaking his butt towards them. A chirping Momo hopped on his back, making Sokka shoot an angry glare at the animal.

Katara shifted looks at both of the boys. "Look, we're all just a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight," she said, shrugging slightly.

"And for what? We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe. There's nothing up here!" Sokka cried, gesturing to the vast ocean.

Katara sighed and rested her head on her arms. She looked up in wonder when they heard some kind of slushing sound. The water in front of Appa suddenly rose and solidified to ice spikes. Aang screamed in fright, his eyes wide in horror, as he violently yanked the reins in an attempt to avoid the sudden obstacle.

Katara and Sokka yelled in fright as they held on for dear life to the sides of the saddle. Appa swerved when another ice spike manifested right in from of him. Part of the ice attached itself to his leg, freezing instantly. His momentum caused the ice to break, but he was thrown off balance and catapulted away. The four screamed in fright. Appa spiraled towards the water. He turned upright again, the water around him instantly froze, and he was locked in place.

Ka smirked as Katara gasped and looked around in surprise. "They're waterbenders! We found the Water Tribe!" Katara exclaimed happily.

OOOOO

The group was being escorted to the Northern Water Tribe. The magnificent wall of the city came into view, much to everyone's amazement.

"There it is!" Aang cried, pointing.

"The Northern Water Tribe..." Katara whispered in awe. Ka smiled at her as they looked towards the giant wall.

"We're finally here," Sokka said in surprise.

A portion of the icy wall was lowered, allowing them to enter into the city. Canal workers used waterbending to transport the group into the city.

"I can't believe how many waterbenders live up here!" Katara cried, laughing lightly.

"We'll find a master to teach us, no problem!" Aang said, beaming at the girls. The team passed through the channels of the city, catching the attention of several civilians who ran over to spectate them. Aang and Ka waved happily at the people. As they continued their trek inward, Sokka noticed a young lady going by on a boat, capturing his attention. He blushed at the sight of her and leapt onto Appa's tail as she pulled away from view.

"This place is beautiful," Ka said, beaming at the entire thing.

"Yeah... she is..." Sokka said dreamily as the young woman wearing clothes similar to Ka's drifted away.

OOOOO

The group was being honored with a feast, hosted by the tribe's chief. Men played drums and a giant crab was set in a pool of water.

Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe. And they have brought with them, two people very special, two people whom many of us believed disappeared from the world until now... the Avatar and his Tauln!" Chief Arnook announced, gesturing towards Aang and Ka. "We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue is now of marrying age!"

"Thank you, Father. May the great Ocean and Moon Spirits watch over us during these troubled times!" Yue said to her people.

"Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform!" Arnook said. Pakku and two students bended significant blobs of water, captivating Aang, Ka, and Katara. They merged the three blobs into one stream, bending it around each other.

Yue then approached Sokka. "Hi there. Sokka, Southern Water Tribe," Sokka said coolly, trying to impress the Princess.

"Very nice to meet you," Yue said, performing a min-bow to him. The two looked away nervously as an awkward silence filled their conversation.

"So... uhhh... you're a princess, huh? You know, back in my tribe, I'm kind of like a prince, myself."

"Ha, prince of what?" Katara said teasingly, hopping in on the conversation.

"A lot of things! Do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation here!"

"My apologies, Prince Sokka," Katara said sarcastically, bowing to him. Sokka looked back over at Yue.

"So, it looks like I'm going to be in town for a while. I'm thinking... maybe we could... do an activity, together?" he asked nervously.

"Do an activity?" Yue asked, laughing slightly. Embarrassed, Sokka stuffed food in his mouth.

"Very smooth..."

Ka and Aang stood up to meet their waterbending master. Ka only had to finish it. And she was nearly there!

"Master Pakku, meet your newest students, the Avatar. And his Tauln," Arnook said. Ka and Aang both bowed to him.

"Just because you're destined to save the world, don't expect any special treatment."

Ka, my friend, and I can't wait to start training with you! After we relax for a couple of days," Aang said, shrugging slightly. Ka sighed.

"If you want to relax, then I suggest visiting a tropical island. If not, I'll see you all at sunrise. Good night," Pakku said flatly and turned to walk away. Aang looked at Arnook, who merely shrugged.

OOOOO

The next morning, the three walked towards Pakku to start/finish waterbending training.

"I've waited for this day my whole life. I finally get to learn from a real waterbending master!" Katara cried excitedly, her eyes wide.

Pakku was bending a stream of water when they arrived. "Good morning, Master Pakku!" Aang shouted, waving his arm in the air.

Pakku grumbled and dropped the water. "No, please, barge right in. I'm not concentrating or anything," he muttered sarcastically.

"Uhhh... this is my friend, Katara. The one I told you about?" Aang said, trying to change the subject. Pakku turned to them and created an ice chair. Katara bowed to him, but Pakku jut scowled.

"I'm sorry, I think there's been a misunderstanding. You didn't tell me your friend was a girl. In our tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn waterbending," Pakku said. Ka gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean you won't teach me? I didn't travel across the entire world so you could tell me no!" Katara cried angrily, getting up in his face.

"No."

"But what about Ka! She's a girl, and you're teaching her!" Katara cried, pointing to Ka.

"She is the Tauln, so she is the only exception I can make," Pakku informed. This made Ka feel uncomfortable.

"But there must be other female waterbenders in your tribe!" Katara cried.

"Here, the women learn from Yugoda to use their waterbending to heal. I'm sure she would be happy to take you as her student, despite your bad attitude," Pakku informed smugly.

"I don't want to heal, I want to fight!"

"I can see that. But our tribe has customs, rules."

"Well, your rules stink!" Katara yelled furiously.

"Yeah, they're not fair! If you won't teach Katara, then..." Aang cried angrily.

"Then what?"

"Then I won't learn from you!" Aang finished angrily. He turned to storm off, and Ka reached a hand out. She looked at Pakku and sighed.

"Well, have fun teaching yourself! I'm sure you'll do a great job."

"Wait! Aang didn't mean that!" Katara ran up to Aang and spun him around. "You can't risk your training for me. You have to learn from Master Pakku, even if he is a big jerk."

Katara left after Aang nodded at her. He turned to Pakku. "Why don't we get started, then?"

OOOOO

At the class, Aang and Ka were both twirling a stream of water as Pakku slurped on some noodles. Ka was doing excellent, while Aang was having a bit of trouble.

"You're moving the water around, but you're not feeling the push and pull," Pakku said to Aang.

"I'm trying..." Aang strained.

"Maybe that move is too advanced for you. Why don't you try an easier one?"

Aang threw the water on the ground and yelled out in frustration.

OOOOO

"How's warrior training going?" Katara asked her brother where they were staying. Sokka kicked his bag in response and flopped on the ground.

"That bad?"

"No, it's Princess Yue. I don't get it, one minute she wants to go out with me, and the next, she's telling me to get lost!" To change the subject, Sokka asked the other three, "So, how's waterbending training?"

Aang and Katara flopped on the ground in unison. Ka merely sat on the ground cross-legged.

"Master Poophead won't teach her because she's a girl," Aang replied. Sokka looked at Ka in confusion, but then shrugged.

"Why don't you just teach her, Aang?"

"Why didn't I think of that? Every night, you two can teach me whatever moves you learn from Master Pakku! That way, you have someone to practice with, and I get to learn waterbending! Everyone's happy!" Katara cried excitedly.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Katara…" Ka warned.

"I'm not happy," Sokka said, ignoring Ka's comment.

"But you're never happy. Come on, Aang." With that, Aang and Katara left and Ka sighed.

"So how are things with you and the angry jerk?" Sokka asked, looking over at Ka. Her face flushed and she glared over at Sokka.

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Well, you _were_ a prisoner on his ship. You blush and get angry whenever we mention him. I'm starting to get the feeling something happened over there," Sokka shrugged nonchalantly.

"NOTHING HAPPENED! We ki—" Ka shut her mouth before she revealed what had happened. Sokka smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"C'mon, tell me! I won't tell the others," he said, sitting up. Ka sighed and hung her head.

"We kissed. Once."

Sokka's eyes went wide and he snickered. Ka glared up at him and bended the snow into his face.

OOOOO

Apparently, Master Pakku had caught Aang teaching Katara and made him no longer his student. So the four went to Chief Arnook to confront him.

"What do you want me to do? Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?" Arnook asked.

"Yes... please!" Katara cried.

"I suspect he might change his mind, if you swallow your pride and apologize to him," Arnook suggested. Pakku smirked. Katara looked over at Aang and sighed.

"Fine."

"I'm waiting, little girl," Pakku said smugly.

"No!" As Katara thrashed her hands around to gesture, ice cracked inadvertently. "No way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you!" Two pots suddenly shattered.

"Uhhh... Katara?"

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me!" Katara yelled. Yue gasped as Katara angrily stormed out.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," Aang said, jabbing a thumb to where Katara had left.

"Yeah, I think she did."

OOOOO

Ka sighed. She was totally against violence. She didn't want to watch Katara and Pakku fight. And it wasn't sparring. It was a real fight.

So she decided to find somewhere to meditate. She found some kind of….spiritual garden. It was so warm. She gasped softly and walked through it.

Ka removed her coat and sat in front of the pond. There were two koi fish circling each other. "Yin and Yang…" she mumbled and closed her eyes.

OOOOO

The next morning, at Pakku's class. Aang turned a blob of water into a stream and awkwardly sent it off, a grin on his face. Ka smirked at him.

"Not bad, not bad. Keep practicing and maybe you'll get it by the time you're my age," Pakku said, laughing.

Aang turned around, annoyed, but quickly smiled when he noticed Katara coming up. "Hey, Katara!" he exclaimed. Ka smiled. Aang had told her how Pakku let Katara in his class.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Pakku paused as Katara looked up at him. "It's past sunrise. You're late." He got into a bending stance with a smirk on his face.

"Good to see you here."

"You, too."

Then Ka got the strangest feeling that something bad was about to happen. She glanced once over at Aang and took a deep breath.


	16. The Siege of the North-Part One

Chapter 15: The Siege of the North

**A/N: Eh? Eh? Are you excited? Double update!? I might be able to do Book 2 and 3 NOW THAT I GOT INTERNET! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I can go on, like, the transcript and change it to past tense and add Ka and do awesome shit. Anyway, I don't own anything. Sorry, if it's short. I sometimes get lazy. I might do a TRIPLE UPDATE TODAY! **

Ka was meditating in the spiritual garden. It helped clear her mind…of thoughts of Zuko. She kept wondering if he was okay and if she was going to see him again.

Suddenly, a guard rushed in and walked up to her. "Chief Arnook wishes for the entire tribe to be at the Royal Palace," he said calmly. Ka nodded once and stood up, following him.

OOOOO

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission," Arnook announced. Ka sat with Aang, Katara, and Sokka, who didn't look happy.

In fact, he looked heartbroken.

"Count me in!" Sokka suddenly said, rising from his seat.

"Sokka..." Katara said nervously.

"Be warned, many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark, if you accept the task." As Arnook said this, many Water Tribe men stepped forward.

Arnook painted three red line marks with his fingers on one man's forehead. The man walked away, slightly sorrowful. Sokka stepped forward and Arnook painted the same three marks. He began to walk away sadly, but looked once at Yue. After staring at each other for a few moments, Sokka continued walking. Yue averted her gaze, closed her eyes, and silently cried.

Ka pressed her lips in a straight line.

OOOOO

"The stillness before battle is unbearable. Such a quiet dread," Arnook said, joining Aang and Ka outside where they stood at a snow ledge. Katara joined them as well.

I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people. I'm going to make a difference this time," Aang said determinedly, standing up. He held his staff firmly as they gazed out into the horizon.

OOOOO

Aang, Katara, Sokka, Ka, Appa and all the warriors were gathered at the wall. Something distant was soaring toward the city from the horizon. Aang squinted his eyes before realizing the object is a fireball. Sokka and Katara gasped as it collided into the wall of the city, sending all of them back.

More fireballs began to bash against the wall, causing it to melt and begin to fall apart.

Aang and Ka both jumped on Appa, flying towards the fleet. "Yip-yip!"

Aang and Ka flew toward a single Fire Navy ship. Two fireballs were launched at them, but Aang used his glider to direct it into an icy cliff near the side of the city.

"We'll take it from here, boy," Aang said, looking over at Ka and grinning.

The two jumped down from Appa. Aang opened his glider and grabbed Ka's hand as they flew downward onto the first ship. Using airbending, he swept several trebuchet operators off their feet and leapt onto one trebuchet. An operator came forward and slammed a sledgehammer onto the machine, nearly striking Aang who manages to back-flip away.

Ka used bending from the ocean to knock the Fire Nation troops away from her and Aang. One of them managed to grab her, but she sent a stream of water towards his face and froze him in ice. She knocked the others into the ocean.

So much easier when you're a master waterbender.

Ka glanced over at Aang, who was smiling happily after destroying one of the machines. A burly man observed him. She rushed to his side when he turned around and saw the man. Aang jumped out of the way of several blows. Aang leaned against a beam only for the two chains to wrap around the beam, thus trapping him. He struggled to break free while Ka tried to waterbend the man away.

Instead, Appa attacks the soldier for her. She smiled as the chains snapped and Aang removed them from his body.

"Appa!" he exclaimed happily.

Appa leaned over the deck of the ship and tossed the man overboard then turned to Aang, who ran over and embraced him.

"Thanks for the rescue, buddy!" he said. Ka stroked his fur once and gasped when the ship began to rumble.

The two jumped on Appa and saw what was happening to the ship. Waterbenders were freezing it in place. Ka smiled, but it faded when she saw the entire fleet.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

OOOOO

Aang and Ka flew back towards the Palace. They were both exhausted from attacking the ships. Ka's hair was getting frizzy and wet.

"Aang! Ka!" Katara called when they came into view.

Aang and Ka landed on the ground, exasperated. Katara and Yue approached them and looked at them.

Aang placed his hands on his head. Ka panted, her chest heaving with exasperation. "I can't do it... I can't do it…" Aang mumbled.

"What happened?" Katara asked.

"We must have taken out a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them. We can't fight them all," Aang replied dimly.

"But, you have to. You're the Avatar and his Tauln!" Yue cried pleadingly, clasping her hands together.

"We're just two kids…" Aang said solemnly. Katara put a hand on his shoulder. Ka sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

OOOOO

"The legends say the moon was the first waterbender," Yue said as they stared up at the moon on the balcony. "Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves." Ka nodded in agreement.

"I've always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night," Katara said.

"Our strength comes from the spirit of the moon. Our life comes from the spirit of the ocean. They work together to keep balance."

Aang had a dull expression on his face, but he suddenly shot up in excitement. "The spirits! Maybe we can find them and get their help!"

"How can you do that?"

"The Avatar and his Tauln are the bridge between our world and the Spirit World! They can talk to them!" Katara replied, smiling.

"Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle!"

Aang waved his arms around. "Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" He looked at the three girls, who were staring at him oddly. "Or wisdom. That's good, too."

"The only problem is, last time you got to the Spirit World by accident. How are you going to get there this time?" Katara asked, looking at the two.

"I have an idea. Follow me," Ka and Yue both said in unison. They looked at each other. The spirit oasis was perfect.

The two walked away and the others followed her quickly. They stopped at a small wooden door. "So, is this the way to the Spirit World?" Aang asked, looking at the two in confusion.

Yue laughed lightly. "No. You'll have to get there on your own. But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole," she said, opening the door.

The four walked in and Ka smirked at Aang's expression. He ran towards the pond and rolled around on the ground. "I never thought I'd miss grass this much!" he exclaimed.

"It's so warm here! How is that possible?" Katara asked as she removed her parka. Ka and Yue did the same.

"It's the center of all spiritual energy in our land," Yue replied, smiling in awe.

Momo stuck his hand in the pond and tried to grab the two fish in the water. Ka, Katara, and Yue looked at him with their arms crossed. Momo ran away from the pond.

"You're right, Yue. I can feel... something. It's so tranquil," Aang said, getting into a meditating position. Ka did the same beside him and closed her eyes.

OOOOO

"Why are they sitting like that?" Yue asked.

"They're meditating, trying to cross over into the Spirit World. It takes all their concentration," Katara replied as Aang and Ka scrunched up their face in irritation.

"Is there any way we can help?"

"How about some quiet? Come on guys, we can hear every word you're saying!" Aang yelled angrily, turning to look at them.

Aang and Ka both stared down at the fish, seemingly mesmerized. The two fish seemed to morph into the yin-and-yang sign. Aang's tattoos and eyes lit up in unison with Ka's eyes.

"Are they okay!?" Yue cried, worried.

"They're crossing into the Spirit World. They'll be fine as long as we don't move their bodies. That's their way back to the physical world," Katara replied calmly.

"Maybe we should get some help."

Katara smiled at her. "No, they're my friends. I'm perfectly capable of protecting them."

"Well, aren't you a big girl now."

"No…" Katara said, alarmed and dismayed. She turned her head to Zuko, whose face was cut and battered.

"Yes. Hand them over and I won't have to hurt you," Zuko threatened determinedly.

Yue ran from the scene as Katara assumed a defensive stance. Zuko, who kicked up his leg, sending a fire blast Katara's way. He fired more blasts from his hands. Zuko continually fired as Katara conjured up water shields to deflect the attacks. Katara drew water from the pond and sent the stream at Zuko, who was preparing another attack. The blast pushed Zuko back several feet and knocked him to the ground.

"I see you've learned a new trick, but I didn't come this far to lose to you," Zuko said, rising from the ground.

He turned around and fired another blast, which Katara blocked by summoning another shield of water. Katara sent a powerful jet of water at him, which collided with Zuko, sending him back. As he attempted to steady himself from the impact, small juts of ice formed around his feet. Water began rising around Zuko and encircled him. Katara waved her arms about wildly, forming a ball of water around him, which she then froze solid.

"You little peasant. You've found a master, haven't you?"

The globule of ice began glowing bright orange with heat and the ground rumbled. Zuko burst out of the ice and fired repeated attacks at Katara, who drew water from the oasis to deflect the attacks. She prepared to strike him with a water blast, however, Zuko managed to slip away and headed towards Aang and Ka. Just as his fingers grasped Aang's collar, Katara fired a water blast, throwing Zuko to the other wall. She then whipped up a large wave and sent the attack at Zuko. The rush of water sent Zuko up the side of the cliff; she froze the water, encasing him in ice.

Zuko laid there for a moment, but rays of sunlight beamed down on him, his head bent down. He felt the heat and sharply raised his head. With a determined look on his face, he breathed steam from his nose, melting the ice quickly. He landed on the ground and fired a blast at Katara, who had her back turned to him at that moment. She turned around swiftly and attempted to deflect the blast by conjuring a water shield; however, she created the shield too late. The blast sent her slamming into the gate to the Spirit World, knocking her out.

Zuko grabbed Aang and Ka by the collar, but Ka a little gentler. "You rise with the moon... I rise with the sun…"

OOOOO

Katara's eyes suddenly snapped open as she regained consciousness, only to realize Aang and Ka were gone. She crawled around, desperately searching for them in horror.

"Aang! Ka!" she yelled. Sokka and Yue entered on Appa/ Sokka quickly jumped down and gasped softly.

"What happened? Where's Zuko?!"

"He took Aang and Ka. He took them right out from under me," Katara replied, dismayed.

Where did they go...?" Sokka asked to no one in particular.

OOOOO

Zuko held Aang on his back and Ka in his arms as he trudged through a blizzard above the oasis.


	17. The Siege of the North-Part Two

**A/N: I don't own anything.**

Ka opened her eyes and glanced over at Aang. She was in a swamp dotted with trees. A large white bird flew past and she blinked. The Avatar and his Tauln stood up.

"Ohm…" a voice said. Aang and Ka leapt on the rocks towards a figure mediating on the ground. Ka looked around. She had never seen the outside of the Spirit World before.

The voice belonged to some kind of odd monkey Spirit.

"Hello? I'm sorry to disturb you. We just really need to find the Moon and the Ocean Spirits," Aang said quickly, trying to be polite.

"Go. Away," the odd Spirit said. He opened one eye. "You're still here?"

"Yes, we need—"

"Ohm!" the odd Spirit said louder, trying to distract himself. Ka sighed. Some kind of insect buzzed by and the Spirit pointed at it. "Perhaps that thing will help you. Chase it!" The two chased after it determinedly.

The two chased the insect through the swamp and leaped onto a tree. Aang managed to grab it and smiled. The tree branch shriveled up at his touch and disappeared, causing him to fall. Ka hopped from the trunk and landed in the water. Aang loses his grip on the insect and it flies away as Aang tries to reach for it again.

"Come back!"

Aang stood up and Ka walked next to him. She gasped when Roku suddenly appeared in the water. " Hello, Aang. Hello, Ka," he said.

"Roku!" the two said in unison, surprised. "Roku, the Water Tribe's under attack. We need to find the Ocean and the Moon Spirits," Aang said.

Roku popped out of the water and stood before them. "The Ocean and the Moon are ancient spirits. They crossed over the Spirit World to the mortal world very near the beginning. There is only one spirit I know of who is old enough to remember," he said. Ka mentally facepalmed herself. She literally just remembered learning about Spirits who cross over.

"Who?"

"The spirit's name is Koh, but he is very dangerous. They call him the Face Stealer." Ka stiffened at his response. Of course, they had to go see her father. "When you speak with him, you must be very careful to show no emotion at all. Not the slightest expression, or he will steal your face." Aang glanced over at Ka and then sighed, nodding once.

"Well, time for a family reunion," Ka muttered before the two tried to find her childhood home.

OOOOO

(A/N: I was so psyched to write this part!)

Ka stiffened and gasped softly when she heard a familiar voice. Zuko, her mind told her. She looked around.

"I finally have you both, but I can't get you home because of this blizzard. There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're just like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am," the voice, Zuko, said.

Ka sighed, knowing it wasn't real. They finally approached a large tree and Ka smiled softly. This was the place she grew up in. Aang stared at the cave and slightly stepped forward. He glanced to his left, noticing that the noises they heard hadn't been coming from the cave. Aang sighed in relief.

"You're just a curly tailed blue nose." The monkey turned its head toward Aang, exposing that he has no face. The two both jumped in surprise. Aang took a deep breath.

"Show no fear. Show no emotion at all," they both said combined voices. The pair stepped into the cave with no emotion.

"Hello? I-I'm looking for a spirit named 'Koh'."

"Father!?" Ka called as they walked through.

Koh suddenly appeared in front of them. "Welcome!" he announced loudly, expecting a reaction. Ka narrowed her eyes at her father.

"Thank you," Aang said, bowing politely.

"My old friend, the Avatar. It's been a long time," Koh said, circling them creepily.

"You know me?"

"How could I forget you?" He said, switching to a different face. "One of your previous incarnations tried to slay me! Nearly eight or nine hundred years ago!"

"I didn't know that. Why did he or I try to kill you?"

"Oh, it was something about stealing the face of someone you loved," Koh said, switching to a woman's face. He smirked before changing into the monkey's face, laughing evilly. Yet, Aang showed no emotion. He blinked.

"Of course that's all behind us. Why should I hold a grudge against you for something in a past life. After all, you're a different person now," Koh said, leaning into his ear. "You've come to me with a new face." Aang took a deep breath.

"It's been a long time since I've added a child's face to my collection. So...How may I help you?" Ka shot her father a look, and he smirked.

"We need to find the moon and the ocean."

"Their spirit names are Tui and La, push and pull. And that has been the nature of their relationship for all time," Koh informed.

"Please. Help us find them. An entire culture could be destroyed if we don't get their help," Aang said.

"Oh, you think you need their help. Actually it's quite the other way round," Koh said. He suddenly turned to Aang with an angry face. "Someone's going to kill them!"

"What do you mean? How can I find them and protect them?"

"You've already met them, actually. Tui and La, your moon and ocean, have always circled each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other, push and pull, life and death, good and evil, yin and yang."

Aang and Ka's eyes widened in realization.

"The koi fish!" Aang exclaimed. Ka stiffened, but sighed in relief when he put on an expressionless face. "We must be going now."

"We'll meet again. And, Ka," Koh said. Ka turned to him and blinked. "I know what happened with the Prince of the Fire Nation."

She blushed and quickly turned around as her father receded into the shadows.

The pair quickly left the cave and Ka sighed. "The spirits are in trouble, we need to get back to the physical world!" Aang said to Roku.

"A friend is here, to guide you back." The reflection shifted into Hei Bai, and Ka laughed softly. Aang turned around excitedly.

"Hei Bai!"

The two jumped on him and he ran towards where they had come from. "This is where we came in, but how do we get back?" Aang asked, jumping off. Ka followed him and they stood at the archway.

Hei Bai stood on his hind legs and sent a beam of energy at Aang and Ka, who disappeared to the physical world.

OOOOO

When they got back, Aang laughed, seeing Momo near the pond. "Momo!" he exclaimed, but he didn't see him. "Momo?"

Aang looked at himself and then at Ka. They were both blue. "Oh, no. Where's our bodies?" he asked.

The two suddenly rose in the air flew towards some kind of cave. They opened their eyes in unison to realize that they were tied up. Ka looked up to see Zuko.

His face was battered and cut.

"Welcome back," Zuko said. Aang narrowed his eyes.

"Good to be back," he said. Aang airbended Zuko into a wall and propelled himself and Ka backward, out of the cave. Aang and Ka both wriggled like a worm in an attempt to get away, only to be caught by Zuko.

He held them both up by the collar and Ka gulped from how close they were. Zuko shifted his gaze to Ka for a moment. "That won't be enough to escape."

There was a growl. "Appa!" Aang exclaimed. Zuko tossed the two aside on the ground as Appa landed and Katara slid off.

"Here for a rematch?" he asked, getting into a bending stance.

"Trust me Zuko, it's not going to be much of a match."

Katara used waterbending to launch Zuko into the air before plummeting him down to the ground, knocking him out. Sokka ran towards Aang and Ka to untie them as Katara went back on Appa.

"Hey, this is some quality rope!" Sokka exclaimed, appreciating the little things.

"We need to get to the oasis; the spirits are in trouble!" Ka said, quickly jumping on Appa. She looked at Zuko as Aang airbended himself onto Appa's head.

"Wait, we can't just leave him here," she said softly.

"Sure we can. Let's go," Sokka said, crossing his arms. Ka shot him a glare and jumped down on the snow.

"No, she's right. If we leave him he'll die," Aang agreed. He airbended himself off and helped Ka picked up Zuko, bringing him to Appa.

"Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Bring the guy who's constantly trying to kill us," Sokka cried sarcastically. He tied Zuko up in the rope as Ka crossed her arms.

As they flew, the moon suddenly grew red. Yue grabbed her head as if in pain. "Are you okay?" Sokka asked. Ka and Aang did the same. Ka felt insanely weaker.

"I feel faint."

Aang held his hand with one hand. "I feel it, too. The Moon Spirit is in trouble."

"I owe the Moon Spirit my life," Yue suddenly said. Ka looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked.

"When I was born I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they're born, but I was born as if I was asleep, my eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the spirits to save me. That night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white. I opened my eyes and began to cry, and they knew I would live. That's why my mother named me Yue, for the moon," Yue explained.

OOOOO

Appa landed in the oasis to reveal Momo jumping on Zhao's head. Ka had to stifle a laugh. Zhao yelled for Momo to get off, and he jumped on Aang's outstretched arm.

The group got into fighting stances. "Don't bother," Zhao said, holding up the bag, threatening to kill the Moon Spirit.

Aang and the others dropped their stances. "Zhao, don't!"

"It's my destiny, to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe."

"Destroying the moon won't hurt just the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone, including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world," Ka informed firmly, narrowing her eyes.

"She is right, Zhao," Iroh said. Ka gasped softly and looked over at him.

"General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?" Zhao asked calmly.

"I'm no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon, too; we all depend on the balance. Whatever you do to that spirit I'll unleash on you ten-fold. Let it go, now!" Iroh threatened angrily, getting into a bending stance.

Zhao closed his eyes before releasing the koi fish into the oasis. Zhao hesitated before striking the koi fish with a fire slice out of anger. Iroh recoiled from the flames as Ka looked up at the darkening sky in horror. Zhao looked up at Iroh as he attacked him angrily. Zhao dodged and countered his firebending while retreating toward his firebending soldiers. They were swiftly defeated as Zhao escaped.

The Ocean Spirit circled the dead Spirit frantically as the others leaned over it. Iroh carefully picked up the dead Moon Spirit.

"There's no hope now, it's over," Yue said sadly, burying her face into Sokka's chest.

Aang and Ka both opened their eyes in unison, revealing them to be glowing. "No, it's not over," they said in unison.

Aang and Ka carefully stepped into the pond. They stood in a meditative stance as La circled them. The Spirit's eyes began to glow as well, and they suddenly disappeared into the water. Blue lightning-like energy expanded from the oasis island into the water. The Water Tribe was lit up by the same light. The other watched in awe as a giant amphibious-like creature rose up and faced towards the sea. They could see Aang and Ka in the center, controlling it.

The Fire Nation soldiers watched in horror as the creature strode towards them, waterbending any Fire Nation troop away. The Water Tribe citizens bowed to them as they stormed to the ocean.

Aang and Ka approached the sea and sent the Fire Navy ships back out into the ocean. They continued to destroy ships and drove the rest back out.

Aang and Ka looked up and noticed the moon has returned. The Ocean Spirit faded into the water and moved back to the city, dropping Aang and Ka off on a wall as they left the Avatar State.

Ka held her head with one hand and looked at Aang.

OOOOO

After the battle, many of the citizens praised Ka and Aang. Ka felt bad that she had to go through all the violence. It didn't feel right.

Aang and Ka stared out into the ocean. Katara walked up behind them. They realized she's there and turned around. The three ran into each other's arms. Momo chittered and flew towards them.

"You too, Momo!" Katara said. Momo jumped on Aang's shoulder.

Sokka placed his hand on Aang's shoulder. All five of them looked out to the ocean and the moon as Appa rose up in front of them.

**A/N: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! UPDATE TODAY! HAHAHAHAHAHA!**


	18. The Avatar State

**A/N: I only own my OCs.**

Pakku held up a flask of water. "Katara, I want you to have this. This amulet contains water from the Spirit Oasis. The water has unique properties. Don't lose it," he said.

Katara took the flask and hugged Pakku. "Thank you, Master Pakku."

"Aang, these scrolls will help you master waterbending. But remember, they're no substitute for a real master," Pakku said, handing Aang a box of waterbending scrolls. Aang looked back at Katara and then back at Pakku. Pakku looked at Ka. "This is a substance that can darken your hair in case you run into the Fire Nation," he said, handing Ka a small container. She bowed and tucked it away.

"Sokka...take care, son," Pakku patted Sokka on the shoulder, leaving him dismayed as they crawled on Appa. "Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There, you will be safe to begin your earthbending training with King Bumi."

"Appa, yip-yip!" Aang cried.

"Say hi to Gran-Gran for me!" Katara called as they flew away.

OOOOO

Sokka rose to view their destination. "There it is!" he cried, pointing.

The group arrived at General Fong's base, where he and his soldiers were waiting. "Welcome, Avatar Aang, Tauln Ka! I am General Fong, and welcome, to all of you great heroes! Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara..."

"Mighty Katara? I like that," Katara said, pleased and crossing her arms. Fireworks went off, launched by the soldiers using earthbending.

"Not bad, not bad…" Sokka said, smirking.

OOOOO

"Avatar Aang and Tauln Ka, we were all amazed at the stories of how you two singlehandedly wiped out an entire Fire Navy fleet at the North Pole," Fong said in the war room, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power. It's an awesome responsibility."

"We try not to think about it too much," Aang said casually, glancing at Ka.

"Avatar and Tauln, you're ready to face the Fire Lord now."

"What? No, we're not!" Aang cried. Ka widened her eyes.

"Aang and Ka still need to master all four elements," Katara stated, holding her hand out reasoning.

"Why? With the kind of power they possess, power enough to destroy hundreds of battle ships in a matter of minutes, they could defeat the Fire Lord now!" Fong exclaimed dramatically.

"But sir, the thing is, Aang and Ka can only do those things when they're in the Avatar State," Sokka informed.

"See, it's this special state where—"

"I'm well aware! Your eyes and tattoos glow and you're able to summon unbelievable power. Without you, we'd be slaughtered before we even reach their shores," Fong interrupted sharply. Ka sighed. "But with you two leading the way, as the ultimate weapon, we could cut a swath right through to the heart of the Fire Nation."

"Right, but, we don't know how to get in or out of the Avatar State, much less what to do once we're there," Aang said.

Everyone looked at Ka. She shrugged slightly. "The Avatar is the one that has to go into the Avatar State for me to. The Avatar controls it," she said, answering their unasked question.

"So, it's decided then. I'll help you figure out how to get into the Avatar State and then you'll face your destiny."

The group rose angrily. "No, nothing's decided. We already have a plan. Aang and Ka's pursuing their destiny their way," Katara said firmly.

"Well, while you take your time learning the elements, the War goes on. May I show you something? That's the infirmary, and those soldiers are the lucky ones. They came back. Every day, the Fire Nation takes lives. People are dying, Aang! You could end it, now. Think about it."

Aang and Ka looked at each other, thinking about what to do.

OOOOO

"General Fong?" Aang asked, pushing open the door. The glint of golden hair could be seen from behind him.

"Come in, Aang and Ka. Have you thought about our discussion?" Fong asked. Aang and Ka walked up and stood before him.

"We'll do it. We'll fight the Fire Lord," Aang said, glancing once at Ka.

OOOOO

Aang and Ka walked into their room and sat on their beds. "We told the general we'd help him, by going into the Avatar State," Ka said dejectedly, hanging her head down shamefully. She really didn't want to, but she couldn't stand wars and violence.

"Aang, Ka, no! This is not the right way!" Katara cried, sitting up.

Sokka rested on his bed with his hands behind his head. "Why not? Remember when they took out the Fire Navy? They were incredible!" he cried, widening his eyes.

"There's a right way to do this. Practice, study, and discipline!" Katara said firmly. Ka wanted to agree with her.

"Or just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord!" Sokka said casually.

Katara stood and threw her hands up in surrender. "If you three meat heads want to throw away everything we've worked for, fine, go ahead and glow it up!" she cried angrily and left the room.

"Katara, I'm just being realistic! We don't have time to do this the right way!" Aang called.

Aang sighed and looked over at Ka.

OOOOO

"This rare chi-enhancing tea is a natural stimulant. In an ordinary warrior, it improves strength and energy ten-fold. In you, it may induce the Avatar State," said a soldier as he poured a white liquid into a cup.

"Ten-fold energy, huh?" Aang asked, glancing at Ka. The two both took a sip nervously. Their eyebrows twitched slightly.

Aang rolled around on an air scooter while Ka twirled around childishly. Sokka snickered at Ka. He'd never seen her like that. "Is it working? Is it working? I can't tell! Somebody tell me if I'm in the Avatar State 'cause I don't have a good view of myself! Am I talking too loud?" Aang asked in a high-pitched voice.

"I guess they could talk the Fire Lord to death," Sokka muttered.

Aang hi a pillar and fell backward. Ka eventually lost her footing and fell on her butt.

OOOOO

"Maybe I can shock you into the Avatar State," Sokka said.

"I love surprises!" Aang exclaimed. Katara covered both of their eyes with her hands for a moment. She uncovered them to reveal Sokka towering over them. He suddenly had Momo's head and screeched.

Aang and Ka both yelled out in surprise, and then looked at themselves. "Still not glowing," Aang said, holding up his non-glowing hands.

OOOOO

"You are both earing a ceremonial piece of clothing from each of the bending nations. Now I will join the four elements into one! Water, earth, fire, air! Four elements together as one!" the oracle exclaimed, throwing dirt, a torch, a bowl of water, and a gust of wind into a large bowl. The oracle rose the bowl and flung the contents at Aang and Ka, coating them in mud.

"This is just mud!" Aang cried, annoyed.

"So... do you feel anything?" the oracle asked quizzically.

Aang raised his finger, catching everyone's interest, only to sneeze, causing mud to fly everywhere, coating Fong, Katara, and Sokka.

"We have to find a way…" Fong said, wiping the mud from his face.

OOOOO

_"Zuko! Don't—"_

_ "You're the Avatar's Tauln! I can't possibly be with you! Did you think that I actually liked you!?" Zuko asked cruelly, laughing evilly. Ka felt her eyes well with tears as she recoiled back from his flame-coated hand. _

_ "Zuko…" she whispered, tears spilling down her face. She suddenly felt a power burst through her and she rose in the air, her eyes glowing. Her hair waved around maniacally as she earthbended Zuko in place. She reached out a hand towards him as he struggled. Ka's hand rested gently on his cheek and she brought her flame-coated hand towards his neck._

Ka woke up screaming in unison with Aang. "Sokka! Sokka, wake up!" Aang said frantically, sitting up and shaking the Water Tribe boy.

"Huh?"

"I don't think we should be trying to bring on the Avatar State."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Do you think the general will be mad?"

"What can he say? You're the Avatar. Who knows better than you?"

Sokka turned back over and Aang looked at Ka. "Huh? Ka? Are you okay? You're…crying?" he said, reaching out towards her. Ka quickly wiped her face and nodded.

"Mm-hmm. Bad dream," she merely said and laid back down, her back to him.

OOOOO

"The thing is, I don't think we'll ever be able to trigger it on purpose. So I guess that's it," Aang said humbly the next day, looking over at Ka.

"You sure I can't change your minds?"

"I'm sure. We can only reach the Avatar State when we're in genuine danger," Aang replied simply.

"I see. I was afraid you'd say that."

He blasted his entire desk at Aang using earthbending, sending him soaring across the room.

"Aang!" Ka and Sokka yelled in unison. Guards held Sokka back as Ka rushed to Aang's aid. The impact sent Aang crashing through the wall and flying out of the building. He broke his fall with airbending.

Fong walked towards the hole and pointed towards Aang and Ka. "Men! Attack the Avatar and his Tauln!" he ordered.

Aang and Ka were surrounded by several earthbending soldiers, some riding on ostrich horses. Fong jumped out of the building and hit the ground, sending a rock wave at Aang and Ka which sent him back further.

"What are you doing?!" Aang demanded.

"I believe we're about to get results," Fong replied slyly.

T Soldiers prepared to shoot giant coins at the two. Aang looked nervously at them. Aang and Ka avoided two oncoming coins and soared in the air parallel to the ground between two more coins that are thrown at them. Ka merely had to dodged and use water from her pouch to destroy them.

"I'm not your enemy! I won't fight you!" Aang cried.

He jumped into the air as four earth coins were sent his way, crashing into each other. As Aang began his descent, another earth coin was sent skidding toward him; the coin crashed into one of the four stationery coins. Aang landed on the ground where the coin was standing just moments ago. Two of the other stationery coins were closed together.

Ka gasped and whirled around just as another earth coin was shot towards her. She broke it with water and grunted as another knocked her across the ground.

Aang narrowly avoided two earth coins sent at him, one flying above him, one flying below him. Two more earth coins were sent from opposite sides of the ring, threatening to crush him. Aang managed to escape by dodging through the holes in the coins just as they collided together and fell to the ground.

Riding an air scooter, Aang zigzagged past several soldiers who attempted to slow him down by conjuring up rock walls in his path. Two soldiers riding ostrich horses chased after him as Aang rode past and scaled up the wall of the base.

Ka knocked another soldier out of her way as she nearly was hit with an earth coin. She glanced over at Aang, who fell to the ground.

The two soldiers landed on the wall and descended to the ground after him. Aang somersaulted forward as he avoided their spear attacks. He landed onto the ground, an earth coin embedded into it. The earth coin was suddenly sent upward and dragged forward, Aang being trapped in its hole. The earth coin landed in front of Fong.

"You can't run forever!" Fong yelled.

"You can't fight forever!" Aang yelled back.

Fong leapt forward and crushed the earth coin, just as Aang jumped to avoid the attack.

Ka looked just as Sokka mounted an ostrich-horse and Katara was seen running forward. She widened her eyes just as Fong smirked at her.

Several earth coins were summoned, rolling toward Katara before coming to a standstill.

"Maybe you can avoid me... but she can't," Fong said and looked at Ka as well.

The soldiers rotated the earth coins so that their flat sides faced Katara. She sent a water whip at Fong, who summoned up dust pillars that deflected the water and turned it to mud. He then used earthbending to begin sinking her into the ground. She twisted around, buried knee deep.

"I can't move!" Katara cried. Ka yelled out in surprise when she was sucked into the ground as well.

"Don't hurt them!" Aang cried, clenching his fists.

He leapt onto the ground and sent a gust of wind at Fong, who summoned an earth wall to block the attack. Fong brought down the earth wall and sunk Katara and Ka into the ground further, this time burying them waist deep.

"Stop this! You have to let them go!" Aang cried, clutching Fong's arm.

"You could save them if you were in the Avatar State!"

"I'm trying... I'm trying!" Aang cried, tears forming in his eyes.

"Aang, I'm sinking!" Katara cried. She was twisted around again, as well as Ka, and was buried chest-deep.

"I don't see glowing!" Fong yelled. He clenched his fist, sending the two girls neck-deep.

"Please!" they both cried frantically.

"You don't need to do this!" Aang begged, dropping to his knees.

"Apparently, I do," Fong said scornfully.

He clenched his fist tight, sinking Katara and Ka completely. They cried out in fear before being completely buried in the ground. Aang leapt forward and attempted to save them, however, he fell short.

He trembled slightly as his eyes and tattoos began to glow. He turned to Fong with an angry expression. Suddenly, Ka burst through the ground, her eyes glowing as well.

"It worked! It worked!" Fong cried triumphantly.

An air blast was sent his way and his triumphant expression soon became one of fear as he realized the situation. Aang pushed Fong back with a powerful air blast, mixed with Ka's waterbending. Fong landed roughly on the ground.

Aang and Ka both rose in an earth vortex.

"Avatar Aang! Tauln Ka! Can you hear me? Your friend is safe!" Fong said pleadingly, bringing Katara back from the ground. "It was just a trick to trigger the Avatar State...and it worked!"

Aang and Ka swiveled about on the vortex and landed on the ground forcefully, causing a flurry of dust to spread. Fong was sent back several feet while Katara remained rooted to the ground where she was. The houses were damaged from their attacks.

_Aang and Ka's spirits lifted from their bodies and onto Roku's dragon, with Roku sitting in front of them. "It's time you learned," he said to them. _

_They flew higher above the dusty clouds. _

"_The Avatar State is a defense mechanism, designed to empower you with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars._

"_The glow is the combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through your body."_

"_In the Avatar State, you are at your most powerful, but you are also at your most vulnerable."_

"_What do you mean?" Aang asked. _

"_If you are killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle will be broken and the Avatar and his Tauln will cease to exist," Roku replied. The Avatars, with their Taulns behind them, slowly faded away. _

Aang and Ka suddenly fell to the ground, weak, and surveyed the damage they caused to the base. Katara quickly approached them and embraced them.

"I'm sorry, Katara. I hope you never have to see us like that again."

"Ha! Are you joking? That was almost perfect! We just have to find out a way to control you when you're like that.

"You're out of your mind."

"I guess we'll figure it out on the way to the Fire Nation."

Sokka appeared behind the general, riding the ostrich horse. He raised his club and struck the general on the head, which knocks him out cold.

"Anybody got a problem with that?"

The soldiers shook their heads quickly. "Do you still want an escort to Omashu?" he asked nervously.

"I think we're all set," Katara said, smirking.

**A/N: THERE'S YOUR FUCKING CHAPTER!**


	19. The Cave of Two Lovers

**A/N: Sorry if it's short. I want to get as much done with Ka's situation and her confusion if she's actually the Tauln or not and her thing with Zuko.**

"You guys are going to be done soon, right? We have a lot of ground to cover if we're going to make it to Omashu today," Sokka said, his hair covering his face.

"What? Like you're ready to go right now, naked guy?" Katara said smugly, rising from her crouched position.

Sokka lifted the hair from his eyes lazily. "I could be ready in two minutes. Seriously, whenever."

"So you were showing me the octopus form?" Aang asked.

"Right, let me see your stance," Katara said. Ka observed the two and smirked when Aang assumed a defensive stance. Katara walked over to him and walked under is right arm. "Your arms are too far apart." She positioned his arms closer together. "See, if you move them closer together, you protect your center. You got it?"

"Oh, yea... thanks," Aang stammered, blushing.

"Okay, let's see what you got."

Ka sighed and drew in the dirt with her finger. No matter what, every picture became either the Fire Nation insignia or Zuko's face. She quietly hissed in annoyance. She had to stop thinking about him! He was the enemy!

So she tried to think of something else.

But she couldn't, because she heard music in the distance.

"Da, da, da. Don't fall in love with the traveling girl. She'll leave you broke and brokenhearted!" sang a voice. Sokka randomly fell off his leaf as a group of nomads approached them. "Hey, river people!"

"We're not river people."

"You're not? Well then what kind of people are you?" the nomad asked puzzlingly.

"Just... people," Aang replied simply, shrugging. Ka stood up and smoothed her wrappings.

"Aren't we all, brother?"

"Who are you?" Sokka asked accusingly, pointing at the nomads.

"I'm Chong and this is my wife, Lily. We're nomads, happy to go wherever the wind takes us!" He suddenly strummed his lute crazily. Ka smiled at them.

"You guys are nomads? That's great! I'm a nomad!" Aang said excitedly, placing a hand on his chest.

"Hey, me too!" Chong exclaimed, matching his excitement.

"I know... You just said that," Aang said blankly.

"Oh. Nice underwear…" Chong said, noticing Sokka.

Sokka walked away with Momo covering his underwear, embarrassed, as the others watched.

OOOOO

"Hey, Sokka, you should hear some of these stories. These guys have been everywhere!" Aang exclaimed with a wreath of pink flowers on his bald head.

"Well, not everywhere, Little Arrowhead. But where we haven't been, we've heard about through stories and songs," Chong said.

"They said they'll take us to see a giant night crawler!"

Moku laid on the ground and said in a dreamy voice, "On the way, there's a waterfall that creates a never-ending rainbow!"

"Look, I hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara and Ka are busy, I guess it's up to me," Sokka said.

The girls shot him a glare as Lily braided their hair. "We need to get to Omashu. No sidetracks, no worms and definitely no rainbows."

"Wow, sounds like someone has a case of destination fever. You're worried too much about where you're going," Chong said.

"You got to focus less on the 'where' and more on the 'going'!" Lily exclaimed, accidentally tugging Katara's hair as she waved her arms about to gesture.

"O. Ma. Shu!" Sokka cried impatiently.

"Sokka's right. We need to find King Bumi, so Aang and Ka can learn earthbending somewhere safe," Katara agreed.

"Sounds like you're headed to Omashu."

Sokka smacked his forehead in frustration.

"There's an old story about a secret pass right through the mountains."

"Is this real or a legend?" Ka asked, glancing at all of them.

"Oh, it's a real legend. And it's as old as earthbending itself." Chong strummed his lute and began singing. "Two lovers, forbidden from one another, the war divides their people and the mountain divides them apart! Built a path to be together!" He stopped playing and singing, "Yeah, I forget the next couple of lines, but then it goes….Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountains, secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel! Yeah!"

Some of the nomads had been dancing. Ka and Katara smiled while Sokka was unamused, folding his arms. "I think we'll just stick with flying. We've dealt with the Fire Nation before. We'll be fine."

"Yeah, thanks for the help, but Appa hates going underground. And we need to do whatever makes Appa most comfortable..."

OOOOO

"Launch!"

Several trebuchets were activated, launching an assault of fireballs at the team, who managed to narrowly avoid them.

"AHHHHHHH!"

OOOOO

The four were covered in ash and soot as they passed the nomads. "Secret love cave, let's go," Sokka said, pointing forward.

OOOOO

"How far are we from the tunnel?" Sokka asked as they reached a cave.

"Actually, it's not just one tunnel. The lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth!" Chong exclaimed.

Sokka halts in his tracks, shocked. "Labyrinth?"

"Oh, I'm sure we'll figure it out," Chong assured casually.

"All you need to do is trust in love... according to the curse," Lily pointed out.

Sokka, who had resumed walking, halted once more. The others passed by him. After several moments, he flinched in terror.

"Curse!?" Sokka whined.

"Hey-hey! We're here!" Chong exclaimed.

"What exactly is this curse?" Ka asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"The curse says that only those who trust in love can make it through the caves. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in them forever," Chong replied.

"And die."

"Oh yeah, and die. Hey, I just remembered the rest of that song!" He strummed the lute once and sang in a low, ominous voice, "And die!"

"That's it! There's no way we're going through some cursed hole!"

Moku turned to point at smoke rising in the air. "Hey, someone's making a big campfire!"

"That's no campfire, Moku," Ka stated in a serious tone.

"It's Fire Nation. They're tracking us," Sokka muttered grimly.

"So all you need to do is trust in love to get through these caves?" Aang asked, making sure he understands.

"That is correct, Master Arrowhead."

Aang turned to stare at Katara, who had her back to him. Her clothes and hair swayed slightly as a breeze passed by.

"We can make it."

"Everyone into the hole!" Sokka commanded.

They all begin to enter the cave. Right after they did, the entrance closed up behind them. Appa frantically clawed at the rocks.

"It's okay, Appa. We'll be fine. I hope," Ka assured, stroking Appa's fur.

"We will be fine. All we need is a plan. Chong, how long do those torches last?" Sokka asked.

"Uh, about two hours each."

Lily lit the rest of the torches in her hands. "And we have five torches, so that's ten hours!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Sokka snatched the torches and stomped on them to put them out. "It doesn't work like that if they're all lit at the same time!"

"Oh, right."

"I'm going to make a map to keep track of exactly where we've been. Then we should be able to solve it like a maze and get through," Sokka stated.

Katara and Aang looked at each other with unsure expressions.

OOOOO

Sokka was standing with a map in his hands. He tilted it to the side a few times before drawing it closer to him.

"Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you've led us to," Ka said, crossing her arms.

"This doesn't make sense. We already came through this way."

"We don't need a map. We just need love. The little guy knows it," Chong said, looking at Aang.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't mind a map also."

"There's something strange here. There's only one explanation. The tunnels are changing," Sokka said, turning to face them dramatically.

"The tunnels, they're a-changin'. It must be the curse! I knew we shouldn't have come down here!" Cong cried frantically.

"Right, if only we listened to you," Sokka said sarcastically.

"Everyone be quiet. Listen," Ka said, holding up a hand.

A low snarl echoed through the dark tunnel. Momo fled from Sokka's shoulder. Sokka suspiciously held the torch up to the tunnel to inspect the strange sound. Suddenly, a wolfbat flew from the darkness of the cave toward them, causing all of them to panic.

"It's a giant flying thing with teeth!"

"No! It's a wolfbat!"

The wolfbat took off again. In a frenzy, Sokka swatted at the creature with the lit torch. Several hot cinders were thrown about and landed on Appa's skin. Yelping in pain, the bison began running around the tunnel, releasing a discharge of rocks and debris. Aang quickly airbended Sokka and the band of nomads out of the way of the falling rocks. He raced toward Katara and pushed her out of the way. Ka ran out of the way and rolled onto the ground.

Ka opened her eyes and gasped. She was separated from everyone else. "AANG!?" she yelled, trying to remove the rocks. When there was no response, she slowly turned around and observed the cave.

Ka picked up the torch she had been carrying and nervously walked through.

"_But she was not chosen! The older child was!" one of the Avatars protested. Koh nodded once. "Yes, but the Chosen Tauln is gone. There must be another Tauln for the airbender…" he said, slithering around the child._

_ The woman looked at the father of her twins and sniffled. _

_ "But…Ka was not chosen. She is not meant to be the Tauln! The entire cycle could fall out of balance!" the angry Avatar cried. Yukun brushed a strand of dark hair away from her tanned face. _

_ "Is the younger child a waterbender?" Avatar Kyoshi asked calmly. Yukun hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Then it is settled. We shall grant this child with the gift of the elements," Kyoshi said. _

_ The Avatars each placed a hand on the purple-eyed baby and their eyes and tattoos (if they had any) began to glow. The baby's eyes began to glow as well and Koh nodded slowly._

_ "Tauln Ka, may you fulfill your destiny," Yukun mumbled, tears streaming down her face._

Ka put a hand to her throbbing head. She groaned and sighed. Those dreams and visions were getting more and more frequent. She had a feeling they were trying to tell her something.

_"KA!"_ yelled a voice.

She whirled around, but there was nothing there. Ka closed her eyes and opened them again. She was no longer in the cave, but…in the Spirit World…?

_"My baby girl…!" said a voice that was getting closer. Ka turned around and dropped the torch when sometimes embraced her. She looked at the figure. It was a woman. There was a girl behind the woman with green eyes and golden hair. Ka widened her eyes at the girl._

_ "Keni, it's Ka!" the woman exclaimed after letting go of her. Ka glanced over at the girl called Keni and pursed her lips. Boy, did that sound familiar…_

_ When the woman stepped aside, Ka widened her eyes. Keni looked exactly like her. They stepped closer towards each other. They were the same height and the same age…maybe. Ka was 116. _

_ "Are…you…my sister?" Keni asked hesitantly. Ka blinked and looked at the woman._

_ "…Yukun…?" she asked in a whisper. The woman's eyes were filling with tears as she nodded. The woman embraced the two._

_ "My beautiful babies," she mumbled. Ka hugged her mother and sister back tightly. Tears threatened to fill her eyes, but she blinked them away._

_ "Ka, I must speak with you before my time ends," Yukun said, leading Ka way._

_ Yukun sat on a tree stump and looked at Ka. "I gave you a dream a while back. It was actually a memory. When you two were born, Keni suddenly stopped breathing and died. She was purposely killed by one of the air Spirits, for the air was sucked from her lungs and she was crushed." Yukun sniffed and wiped a tear before continuing._

_ "Keni was meant to be the Tauln, but the Spirit wanted you to be the Tauln. So the Avatars were forced to give up a bit of their power to give you the energy and abilities of a Tauln," Yukun explained._

_ Ka widened her eyes._

_ "But you have an inner ability that is stronger than that of a Tauln. You must learn to control it, or else your emotions will control it for you and you might spiral out of hand…" Yukun warned. Ka blinked and looked at herself._

_ "…What do you mean…?"_

_ "What does your emotions rely on?"_

_ Ka thought for a moment and her mind raced with thoughts of both Zuko and Aang. "Ah, I see. You have mixed feelings between right and wrong. You have feelings for Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, but you believe that liking him is rong because he is the enemy. Well, he is a fugitive of the Fire Nation currently," Yukun said, smiling and nodding._

_ "Wait, what?"_

_ "Yes, his father wishes to lock him up so he cannot 'embarrass him anymore'," Yukun said, nodding once. Ka groaned and buried her face in her hands._

_ "You are young, Ka. Love is hard when you're young. Just trust in love and you will make it out." Yukun suddenly faded away and Ka fell to the ground._

Ka opened her eyes. She was on the ground. She looked at the torch, but it was pitch black. She tried to think of Zuko, and she smiled as she remembered hugging him and kissing him…

The room began to glow and she followed the crystals on the ceiling to the exit.

OOOOO

"How did you guys get out?" Sokka asked Aang and Katara when they made it out.

"Just like the legend said, we let love lead the way," Aang replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Really? We let huge, ferocious beasts lead our way."

He turned to the badgermoles and waved to them as they slowly plodded their way into the cave again. Two walls of rock rose up where the badgermoles re-entered the cave.

"Why is your forehead all red?" Katara asked Sokka.

"Nobody react to what I'm about to tell you: I think that kid might be the Avatar!" Chong said, pointing warily at Sokka.

Sokka smacked his forehead, enlarging the red spot while Chong looked at him in curiosity. Meanwhile, Aang confronted the other nomads.

"So are you guys going to come to Omashu with us?"

"Nope."

"Okay. Thanks for everything, Moku."

The band of nomads began walking away. Chong placed a necklace of flowers around Sokka's neck. "Sokka, I hope you learned a little something about not letting the plans get in the way of the journey," he said, hugging him.

"Just play your songs," Sokka said irritably, blushing.

Chong smiled and left, singing some kind of love song.

"Hey, have you seen Ka?" Aang asked the others. They shrugged and shook their heads. As if on cue, Ka coughed and crawled out of the cave. She smirked at the three and wiped off the dirt from her clothes.

OOOOO

"The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about: the destination. I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of O—" Sokka paused abruptly after seeing the state of the city. "Oh no..."

**A/N: MWAHAHAHAHA! CLIFFHANGER! Not really. I'm thinking I should skip Return to Omashu. I mean, do I really have to do it? Just put Ka in there, make her be surprised about realizing that Azula is Zuzu's sister, and other Zuko-related things. Okay? **

**Ugh, most of Book 2 are filler episodes. I'm skipping The Swamp and Avatar Day (More like Avatar and Tauln Day), too. I just really don't see a point. Add Ka in there. DONE.**


	20. The Blind Bandit

**A/N: I own nothing. Except OCs.**

Sokka was looking at a bag while pondering. Aang sat down, looking the other way and wearing his conical hat.

"It's pricey... but I really do like it," Sokka said pensively.

"Then you should get it. You deserve something nice," Katara stated.

"I do, don't I? But no, it's too expensive. I shouldn't."

A town citizen tried to talk to a passer-by, showing him a flyer.

"All right, then don't."

Katara walked away in boredom. Aang got up and followed her. Ka jumped off her seat and quickly walked up to catch up with the others. Sokka went along, too, his eyes still on the bag. The town citizen with the flyers walked away into the same direction.

Aang, Katara, Ka, and Momo waited down the street. The town citizen turned toward them, showing them the flyer.

"Psst, psst! Hey, you kids love earthbending? You like... throwing rocks? Then check out Master Yu's Earthbending Academy!" the man said, hanging them a flyer.

They all looked at the flyer. Aang turned around and smiled. "Look! There's a coupon on the back! The first lesson is free."

"Who knows? This Master Yu could be the earthbending teacher you've been looking for," Katara said, shrugging.

Sokka joined them, holding the green bag. He looked at the flyer.

OOOOO

Aang looked perplexed, wearing an Earth Kingdom outfit and a green hat. He put his finger into his ear, wiggled it and then sniffed his finger. He noticed he was standing in a row of younger, but serious looking kids and straightened his back.

Ka was wearing the same, and she glanced over at Aang.

"Take your stances!" Yu ordered. All of them took a fighting stance, except Aang. "Now, strike as if you're punching through your opponent's head!"

Yu demonstrated the movement he meant. The pupils lifted their rocks. Aang gasped when a student rose a rock and hit him the gut, sending him back into a tea-pot-shaped vase.

"So, are you ready to commit to more lessons? If you pay for the whole year in advance, I'll bump you up to the next belt!" Yu asked Aang. Ka walked over to him and helped him up.

OOOOO

"Ehhh, he's not the one…" Aang said, beating his right ear. Sand trickled down from it.

"I think The Boulder's going to win back the belt at Earth Rumble VI!"

"He's going to have to fight his way through the best earthbenders in the world to get a chance!"

The group overheard the students' conversation. Ka removed her hat and smoothed her hair. "Excuse me, but where is this earthbending tournament, exactly?"

"It's on the island of Noneya... "Noneya" business!" The two students laughed and ran away. Sokka laughed and wiped tears of laughter away as Katara frowned.

"Oh, I got to remember that one!"

"We'll take care of this," Katara said, smirking at Ka. She smirked back and they ran after the students. "Hey, strong guys! Wait up!" Katara called. They turned down a corner and the students looked at them.

"Hey, boys! My friend and I were wondering if you could tell us where the tournament is!" Ka cried in a childish, shrill voice, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah, 'cause we loooooove earthbenders! Maybe you could even be our…escorts…?" Katara asked slyly.

The boys laughed. "Yeah. It's Earth Rumble VI, set in a cave," one said. Ka and Katara smirked at each other and used their waterbending to encase them in ice.

"Thanks!" Ka called as they ran back to the group.

"You ready to find an earthbending teacher? Because we're going to Earth Rumble VI!" Katara exclaimed.

"How'd you get them to tell you?"

"Oh...a girl has her ways," Katara said. She and Ka smiled at each other and giggled quietly.

OOOOO

The group arrived at Earth Rumble VI. They sat in a row of empty seats.

"Hey, front row seats! I wonder why no one else is sitting here," Aang said. A rock suddenly landed in the front row next to Sokka. Sokka, Ka, Aang, and Katara jumped to their feet.

"I guess that's why."

In the center of the ring, the event's host raised an earthen platform. He then brought it back to the level of the rest of the arena.

"Welcome to Earth Rumble VI! I am your host, Xin Fu!"

"This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other, isn't it?" Katara asked, sighing and looking the other way. Ka smiled and leaned in. She had never seen a tournament like this before.

"That's what I paid for," Sokka said happily.

"The rules are simple. Just knock the other guy out of the ring, and you win!" Xin Fu leapt onto a podium above the ring as a bell rang. "Round one: The Boulder vs. The Big Bad Hippo!"

"Listen up, Hippo. You may be big, but you ain't bad! The Boulder's gonna win this in a landslide!" The Boulder said. Ka raised an eyebrow. Why was he talking in third person?

"Hippo... mad!"

The Boulder fired three rocks. They crashed into The Hippo, but he didn't move. He caught one piece of rock with his mouth, chewed on it and spit it out. The Hippo jumped up and down, causing the surface of the arena to tilt. The Boulder suddenly lost his balance.

"Unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen! The Hippo is rocking the boat!"

The Boulder reached the edge, but saved himself by bending out part of the ring into a small platform. He grabbed it and throws it at his opponent, hitting him on the back. As The Hippo turned around to look at him, The Boulder bended up The Hippo's part of the ring, and threw him out on it. The Hippo crashed in the lower area of around the arena.

"The Boulder wins!"

"How about The Boulder? He's got some good moves," Katara suggested. Ka looked at her like that was the stupidest question she had ever heard.

Aang shrugged. "I don't know. Bumi said I need a teacher who listens to the earth. He's just listening to his big muscles. What do you think, Sokka?"

Sokka was too busy cheering loudly to acknowledge them. "Next match... The Boulder vs. Fire Nation Man!"

Fire Nation Man entered the arena while happily waving a Fire Nation flag. The crowd and Sokka booed loudly.

"Please, to rise for Fire Nation national anthem! Fire Lord, my flame burns for thee!" Ka groaned and smacked her forehead.

"Go back to the Fire Nation!" Sokka yelled, throwing a rock at Fire Nation Man's head.

Before Fire Nation Man could recover from Sokka's rock against his head, The Boulder sunk him into the ground. The Boulder turned Fire Nation Man facing toward him while doing this. Fire Nation Man dropped his flag by the movement. The Boulder rose high above him on an earth pillar.

"No, no please!"

The Boulder grinned broadly. He jumped off the pillar with his knees downwards, while grasping his ankles behind his back. He slammed the surface of the ring, by which he created a pillar under Fire Nation Man that ejected him out of the arena. He landed upside down on the big rock next to the group.

"Yeah! Wooo! The Boulder knows how to put the hurt in the dirt!" Sokka cheered madly. Ka looked at him and pressed her lips in a straight line. He was getting a little bit into this…

OOOOO

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The Boulder vs. your champion...The Blind Bandit!" Xin Fu announced.

Ka stared at the young girl. She was holding a belt above her head. As two assistants removed the cape from her, Ka stared at her eyes. They were milky green.

"She can't really be blind. It's just part of her character, right?" Katara asked.

"I think she is," Ka replied, glancing at her.

"I think she is... going down!" Sokka exclaimed, throwing his hands down.

"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young blind girl!" The Boulder said, pondering for a moment.

"Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder!" The Blind Bandit mocked.

"The Boulder's over his conflicted feelings, and now he's ready to bury you in a rock-alanche!"

"Whenever you're ready, The Pebble!" The Blind Bandit laughed.

"It's on!"

Ka stared as the young girl waited before striking and perfectly knocked The Boulder out of the ring. She grinned.

"Your winner, and still the champion, the Blind Bandit!" Xin Fu announced.

"How did she do that?" Katara asked.

"She waited... and listened…" Aang replied.

Xin Fu leapt down from the post next to The Blind Bandit. "To make things a little more interesting, I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat the Blind Bandit!" There was a silence. "What? No one dares to face her?"

"I will!" Aang exclaimed, entering the ring. Ka pursed her lips.

"Go Aang! Avenge The Boulder!"

"Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?"

The audience oohed and Ka rolled her eyes. "I don't really want to fight you. I want to talk to you," Aang said.

"Boo! No talking!"

Ka smacked Sokka upside the head. "Don't boo at him!"

The Blind Bandit created a rock that lifted Aang up. He lightly hit the ring.

Somebody's a little light on his feet! What's your fighting name: the Fancy Dancer?" The Blind Bandit asked, smirking. She rose another pillar, which lift him up. "Where'd you go?"

"Please, wait!"

"There you are!"

She launched a rock at him. He stopped it with airbending and the blast knocked The Blind Bandit out of the ring. Everyone was stunned.

"Please, listen! We need an earthbending teacher, and I think it's supposed to be you!"

"Whoever you are, just leave me alone!" The Blind Bandit said angrily, walking away towards a wall. She earthbended it up and left.

"Wait!"

Sokka grabbed the belt and the gold. "Way to go, champ!"

OOOOO

"I've got to admit; now I'm really glad I bought this bag. It matches the belt, perfectly," Sokka said, smiling.

"That is a big relief," Katara said sarcastically.

"If we want to find the Blind Bandit, the Earthbending Academy is a great place to start," Aang said as they walked into the academy.

The same two male students from yesterday were practicing.

"Oh great, you again," one of them said, rolling their eyes. Katara and Ka took a step forwards, causing them to recoil back in fear.

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

"Nicely done," Sokka admired smugly.

"Hey! You're that kid who beat the Blind Bandit!" the student said, pointing to Aang.

"We need to talk to her. Do you guys know where she lives?"

"The Blind Bandit's a mystery." The student rose a fist dramatically and Ka scoffed. "She shows up to fight, then disappears."

Ka laid a hand on Aang's shoulder. "Let me handle this." She stormed up to the boys and jabbed a finger at them. "You're not telling us everything!"

"No, no, I-I swear it's true! No one knows where she goes, or who she really is."

"That's because we're asking about the wrong person. In my vision, I saw a girl, in a white dress, with a pet flying boar. Know anybody like that?"

In my vision, I saw Zuko trying to attack me, Ka thought and sighed.

"Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family. They're the richest people in town. Probably the whole world." The student replied.

"Yeah, but they don't have a daughter."

"A flying boar is good enough for me. Let's check it out," Aang said.

"Yeah, you'd better leave," the student said quietly. Ka glared at them.

"Hey, we got our eye on you," Katara warned and smirked at Ka.

"Water Tribe…" Sokka stated coolly, walking backwards.

OOOOO

"That's the flying boar from my vision. Come on!" Aang exclaimed, pointing to a symbol of a flying boar.

They entered the courtyard. Suddenly, part of the ground lifted up, launching them into the air.

"What are you doing here, Twinkle Toes?" asked a familiar voice. Ka looked up and pulled the leaves and branches from her golden hair.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Don't answer to Twinkle Toes, it's not manly!"

"You're the one whose bag matches his belt," Katara said, crossing her arms.

"How did you find me?" The Blind Bandit asked. Ka widened her eyes. She was wearing an elegant Earth Kingdom dress and her hair was styled up.

"Well, a crazy king told me we had to find an earthbender who listens to the earth. And then I had a vision in a magic swamp, and—"

"What Aang is trying to say is, he's the Avatar and Ka's his Tauln. And if they don't master earthbending soon, they won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord," Katara explained, cutting Aang off.

"Not my problem. Now, get out of here, or I'll call the guards," The Blind Bandit said, shoving a hand in Katara's face.

"Look, we all have to do our part to win this war, and yours is to teach Aang and Ka earthbending," Sokka stated.

"Guards! Guards, help!" The Blind Bandit cried in a fake, pleading voice. The group scattered when the guards arrived.

"Toph, what happened?"

"I... thought I heard someone. I got scared."

"You know your father doesn't want to you wandering the grounds without supervision, Toph." Ka pursed her lips. Her father never let her wander the cave without supervision.

They escorted her away and Aang peered at them from over a rooftop. He smiled and climbed down.

OOOOO

"Blow on it. It's too hot for her," Lao said when they all sat down in the Beifong estate for dinner and a servant set down a cup of tea to Toph.

"Allow me," Aang said, sending a mini tornado of air towards the cup. Everyone clapped and Ka blew a strand of loose hair from her face.

"Avatar Aang, Tauln Ka, it's an honor to have you visit us," Poppy said.

"In your opinion, how much longer do think the war will last?" Lao asked curiously.

"We'd like to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of summer, but we can't do that without finding an earthbending teacher first," Aang said, smiling slyly at Toph.

Lao chuckled. "Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land. He's been teaching Toph since she was little."

"Then she must be a great earthbender! Probably good enough to teach someone else! Ow!" Ka glanced over at Aang, an eyebrow raised.

Aang sat up a little. Lao cast an odd glance at his daughter, who merely ate her soup sweetly.

"Toph is still learning the basics," Yu informed.

"Yes, and sadly, because of her blindness, I don't think she will ever become a true master," Lao said, sighing and looking down.

"Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she is."

Toph sent another fissure at him, causing his face to fall into the soup. Everybody stopped eating to look at them. He rubbed some soup out of his eyes and then emitted a sneeze, causing rice to fly at the Beifong family.

"What's your problem?" Toph asked angrily, getting up and slamming her hands against the table.

"What's your problem?"

Lao and Poppy wiped their faces with napkins. "Well, shall we move to the living room for desert, then?" Poppy suggested.

OOOOO

Later that night, the four were in a guest room. Appa was outside the window being stroked by Aang. "Good night, buddy," he said.

Ka watched as Toph entered the room and leaned against the doorway. Aang turned around and quickly moved in a defensive position. "Relax. Look, I'm sorry about dinner. Let's call a truce, okay?" she asked.

When she and Aang left for a walk, Ka sighed and rested on her bed. "So, Ka, you never told us what you saw in the swamp," Katara said, running her fingers through her hair. Ka visibly stiffened and glanced at them nervously.

"Uh…that's because I didn't see anything," she lied.

"Okay, you're a terrible liar, first of all," Sokka stated, snickering. Ka shot him a glare.

"So, I'm gonna guess Sokka told Katara about what happened on Zuko's ship?" Ka asked, glaring at the two siblings. They both whistled innocently and looked away. "Anyways, Zuko was who I saw," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Katara pressed her lips in a straight lines, and they dropped the subject.

OOOOO

Later, the Beifongs, Yu, Ka, Katara, and Sokka discovered what has happened. They spotted a note attached to a dagger, which Sokka took.

"Whoever took Aang and Toph left this," he said, handing the note to Katara.

"If you want to see your daughter again, bring five hundred gold pieces to the arena. It's signed Xin Fu and The Boulder," Katara read.

Sokka snatched the note from his sister's hands. "I can't believe it... I have The Boulder's autograph!" Ka smacked him upside the head and he glared at her.

"Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back," Lao said.

"We're going with you," Ka said firmly.

"Poor Toph, she must be so scared..." Poppy whispered, tears welling her eyes.

OOOOO

"Toph!" Lao called.

"Here's your money. Now let them go," Sokka said. Yu earthbended the money across the ring to Xin Fu. He grabbed the money and signaled for Toph to be sent down, then released her. Toph ran into Lao's arms and they left the ring.

"What about Aang?" Ka asked.

"I think the Fire Nation will pay a very hefty price for the Avatar. Now, get out of my ring," Xin Fu said, holding out a poster of Aang. A couple of the fighters tried to grab Ka, but she pushed them away.

Fire Nation Man appeared in an earth tornado. The Gecko jumped down from the ceiling. The Hippo stomped on the ground and crushed a boulder. Headhunter jumped onto the ring from the bleachers. The Gopher popped up from underground.

"Go, I'll be okay," Aang said. Ka narrowed her eyes and shook her head, peering at all of them.

"Not a chance."

OOOOO

***insert AWESOME Toph fighting scene here***

"Dad, I know it's probably hard for you to see me this way. But the obedient little helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn't me. I love fighting. I love being an earthbender, and I'm really, really good at it. I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world. You were doing it to protect me, but I'm twelve years old and I never had a real friend. So, now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me," Toph confronted her parents.

"Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you, Toph. It's made me realize something."

"It has?"

"Yes. I've let you had far too much freedom. From now on you'll be cared for and guarded twenty-four hours a day." Poppy nodded in agreement. Ka gasped softly.

"But, Dad!"

"We're doing this for your own good, Toph."

"Please escort the Avatar, Tauln, and their friends out. They are no longer welcome here," Lao ordered. The guards walked towards them and led them out.

"I'm sorry, Toph," Aang said, looking back at her.

"I'm sorry too. Goodbye, Aang…" Toph said, shedding a tear. Ka sighed and looked at her feet. Toph reminded her so much of her fourteen-year old self, when she wanted to go out and explore the world.

OOOOO

"Don't worry, we'll find you a teacher. There are plenty of amazing earthbenders out there," Katara said when they went back to Appa.

"Not like her."

Sokka polished the championship belt on Appa's saddle. Katara jumped up onto the saddle and Aang took the reins. Just as Ka began to climb up, she saw Toph running towards them and panting.

"Toph! What are you doing here?" Aang asked.

"My dad changed his mind. He said I was free to travel the world," Toph replied. Ka narrowed her eyes. She was lying.

"Well, we'd better get out of here, before your dad changes his mind again," Sokka said, smirking.

"Good idea."

"You're going to be a great teacher, Toph."

"Speaking of which, I want to show you something."

"Okay."

Aang jumped down from Appa and Toph bended up a rock, sending him into the air and landing in a tree.

"Now we're even. Um, I'll take the belt back," Toph said, outstretching her arm.

Sokka tossed the belt down, hitting Toph on the head and knocking her down. "Ow!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry."

**A/N: OMG! OMG! NEXT IS "THE CHASE"~! I know most OCs get reunited with Zuko and Iroh in the end of that episode, but oh well! Ka will! And it'll make her feel guilty for a bit, but she'll be good. Hey, she can't leave a friend who's hurt—destiny or no destiny. So it'll halt her earthbending a bit. Hee-hee…**


	21. The Chase

**A/N: I don't own anything except my OCs. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, DOES ANYONE LIKE SAM TSUI, 3OH!3, ONE DIRECTION, OR OWL CITY ANYMORE!? AM I THE ONLY ONE!?**

"Hey! You guys picked a great campsite." Toph said, jumping from Appa and wiggling her toes in Appa's fur. Ka snickered. "The grass is so soft."

"That's not grass. Appa's shedding," Sokka corrected.

Katara raised a foot warily. "Oh, gross!"

Aang sat on Appa as a bluebird perched on his head and a yellow butterfly fluttered past. Momo jumped up in an attempt to catch the butterfly.

"That's not gross, it's just a part of spring! You know, rebirth, flowers blooming and Appa gets a new coat," Aang said cheerfully.

"…This is my first spring…" Ka said dreamily, smiling and scratched her arm awkwardly.

"Ah, the beauty of spring," Katara said sarcastically.

Appa, who had currently been grooming himself, sneezed, releasing a thick cloud of fur.

Katara waved her arms about and coughed. "Stop! Appa, stop! Ugh!"

"It's not that bad, Katara. It makes a great wig!" Sokka said, turning to face her. He grinned.

"And a great beard!" Aang said. He and Sokka laughed at each other.

"I'm just glad we finally have another girl in the group, because you two are disgusting," Katara said, wiping the fur from her sleeves.

"Excuse me, does anyone have a razor? Because I've got some hairy pits!" Toph said, raising her arms, revealing the stuffed fur. Ka snickered as they laughed. Aang suddenly sneezed, sending him flying backwards into Appa. They continued to laugh.

Katara snickered slightly. "Hey, Momo! Stop!" Ka suddenly exclaimed, waving her arms about. Momo had been styling some kind of hairstyle on her head with Appa's fur. The others laughed at her and she soon joined them.

OOOOO

The group was setting up camp. Aang and Ka were setting up the tent while Sokka threw down a pile of firewood he collected. Katara, who spent her time stirring around water in a pot, noticed Toph slumping lazily against a rock, chewing a piece of wheat. She approached her with a smile.

"So Toph, usually when setting up camp, we try to divide up the work."

Toph shrugged casually. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'm good to go."

"Well, actually what I'm trying to say is, some of us might fetch water, while someone else might set up the fire pit, or put up the tent," Katara said just as Momo flew by and dropped nuts into her hand. "Even Momo does his fair share."

"Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire," Toph patted her bag. "I've already collected my own food and look," Toph earthbended some kind of tent over herself. "My tent's all set up."

"Well, that's great for you, but we still need to finish—"

"I don't understand what's the problem here!" Toph cried angrily.

Katara waved her hand dismissively and walked away. "Never mind."

Toph earthbended herself into her tent.

OOOOO

Standing on top of Appa, Aang used airbending to lift the saddle. He mistakenly caused it to land directly on top of Sokka, who had been standing on the ground beside the bison.

"Sorry!"

Katara looked over at Toph, who was sitting comfortably beneath her earth tent. Her dull expression changed to one of slight happiness. She approached Toph, who was eating something.

Katara rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Hey Toph, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each other's nerves."

"Yeah, you do seem pretty tired."

"I meant all of us."

Toph lazily tossed the food aside and laid down in her tent. "Well, good night."

"Good night," Katara said, slightly irked. Katara turned around and left.

OOOOO

Toph was suddenly startled awake. She rose and pressed her left hand to the ground to feel the vibrations within the earth. She rose to her feet and ran out of the tent.

"There's something coming toward us!" she cried. The others woke up and looked at her.

"What is it?" Ka asked.

Toph pressed her hand to the ground. "It feels like an avalanche, but also not an avalanche."

"Your powers of perception are frightening," Sokka said sarcastically.

"Should we leave?" Katara asked nervously.

"Better safe than sorry."

OOOOO

The group packed their things and flew away on Appa. The girls looked behind them to see a cloud of black smoke coming closer. "What is that thing?" Katara asked.

Ka was tired. She yawned and looked over at Aang. He yawned as well. They finally landed on the ground and Toph immediately jumped off. "Ah, land sweet land! See you guys in the morning!" she said cheerfully.

"Actually, can you help us unload?"

"Really? You need me to help unload Sokka's funky-smelling sleeping bag?" Aang handed Sokka his sleeping bag, which he sniffed curiously. Sokka turned away, his disgusted face growing red, and fell backward, passing out.

"Well, yeah. That and everything else. You're a part of our team now, and—"

"Look! I didn't ask you to help unload my stuff! I'm carrying my own weight."

"That's not the point!" Katara yelled angrily, approaching her. "Ever since you joined us, you've been nothing but selfish and unhelpful!"

"What? Look here, sugar queen, I gave up everything I had so that I could teach Aang and Ka earthbending. So don't you talk to me about being selfish!"

After finished speaking, Toph sat down on the ground and earthbended an earth tent over her.

"'Sugar queen'!?" Katara demanded. Toph slammed the door in her face, causing Ka to wince. "D-did you just slam the door in my face? How can you be so infuriating?"

Katara angrily banged her fists against the door of the wall and kicked the tent's walls with her feet.

"Should we do something?" Aang asked.

"Hey, I'm just enjoying the show." Sokka was clearly amused.

"Okay, okay, you both need to calm down…" Aang said, putting his hands up and approaching Katara.

"Both?!" Katara turned to him with a crazed expression and bloodshot eyes. "I'M COMPLETELY CALM!"

"Uh…I can see that…" Aang said awkwardly, slowly walking away.

OOOOO

Aang was lying on the ground with Momo beside him while Sokka, Ka, and Katara laid in sleeping bags.

"The stars sure are beautiful tonight. Too bad you can't see them, Toph!" Katara cried mockingly.

Toph used earthbending release a fissure that channeled underground and sent Katara flying into the air. She landed on top of Sokka, startling him.

Sokka pushed Katara off of him. "Hey, how's a guy supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earthquaking?!"

Toph suddenly opened her tent and ran out. "That thing is back!" she exclaimed.

"Well, how far away is it?" Sokka pulled the sleeping bag over his head. "Maybe we can close our eyes just for a few minutes."

Aang and Ka sighed when they noticed the smoke. "I don't think so, Sokka," Aang said. They packed up their things once again and flew away.

"Seriously, what is that thing?" Katara asked.

"And how does it keep finding us?" Toph continued her question.

Aang rested against the saddle. "I don't know. But this time, I'm going to make sure we lose it."

Appa landed on his side on a flat-surfaced rock bed, throwing everyone onto the ground along with their belongings.

"Okay, forget about setting up camp. I'm finding the softest pile of dirt and going to sleep," Sokka said, crawling in his sleeping bag.

Katara used her sleeping bag as a pillow and angrily glared at Toph. "That's good because Toph wasn't going to help anyway!"

"Oh, I didn't realize the baby still needed someone to tuck her in bed."

"Come on guys, there's something after us and we don't even know what or who it is," Aang said, pulling his shirt over his head.

"It could be Zuko. We haven't seen him since the North Pole," Katara suggested. Ka visibly stiffened and Aang looked at her in confusion.

"Who's Zuko?" Toph asked.

"Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail who's tracked us all over the world….and also Ka's boyfriend," Sokka replied. Aang widened his eyes at Ka.

"What's wrong with ponytails, Ponytail?" Katara asked mockingly, smirking.

"This is a warrior's wolf tail."

"Well, it certainly tells the other warriors that you're fun and perky."

"Okay, Zuko is not my boyfriend!" Ka shrieked in a high-pitched voice. Toph snickered.

"But you kissed once," Sokka informed, smirking at her. Ka blushed bright red.

"N-No we didn't!"

Top burst out laughing. "Anyway, whoever's chasing us couldn't have followed us here, so, now would everyone just shhh?" Sokka said, raising his head.

Momo hopped onto his sleeping bag and chittered excitedly.

Sokka held up a finger to shush him "No Momo, shhh. Sleepy time."

Momo hopped off Sokka and over to the ledge of the rock. He continued to chitter and raised his ears up in alert. Aang and Ka rose, followed by Toph and Katara.

"Oh, don't tell me..."

"That's impossible. There's no way they could have tracked us," Aang said, sighing.

"I can feel it with my own two feet!" Toph cried.

Aang ran to the edge of the cliff next to Momo and noticed smoke rising from the far end of the rocky pathway.

"Let's get out of here," Katara said nervously.

"Maybe we should face them. Find out who they are. Who knows, maybe they're friendly," Aang said calmly.

"Always the optimist..." Sokka said hopelessly. They all suddenly saw Ty Lee, Azula, and Mai riding on lizards.

"It's those three girls from Omashu!" Katara exclaimed. Everyone assumed fighting stances.

"We can take them. Four on three!" Toph exclaimed determinedly.

"Actually Toph, there's five of us," Sokka said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't count you. You know, no bending and all."

Sokka turned to her, his face distorted with rage. "I CAN STILL FIGHT!" he cried.

"Okay, four on three plus Sokka."

"Errrgh!"

Toph earthbended three columns in an attempt to hinder the girls, however, the Mongoose Lizards merely leapt over the pillars and continued on their way.

"Well, we wanted to find out who they were and we found out. Now let's get out of here!" Sokka said, putting his boomerang away.

Toph earthbended a rock wall in front of the trio. Azula generated lighting on her fingertips. She fired the bolt at the wall, leaving a huge gape in the middle. Mai suddenly launched a flurry of knives. Toph launched herself off a pillar. The darts struck the pillar and she landed on Appa.

"Appa, yip-yip!"

They managed to escape successfully, narrowly avoiding a blue fire blast. "I can't believe those girls followed us all the way from Omashu," Katara said, shocked.

"I can. They found the Avatar and his Tauln. How do you think the Fire Nation is going to react?" Ka snapped and then immediately sighed. This lack of sleep was making her irked.

"I still think we could have taken them."

"Are you kidding me? The crazy blue firebending and the flying daggers are bad enough, but last time we saw them, one of those girls did something that took my bending away. That's scary," Katara said.

Ka blinked. "It's called chi-blocking," she said. The others turned to look at her. "She finds your weak spots and uses them to dull your chi. One of my masters taught me how to do that. I guess I forgot about it. Being frozen for a hundred years dulls your brain a little, I suppose."

OOOOO

"Oh no, the sun is rising. We've been up all night with no sleep!" Sokka complained.

"Sokka, we'll be okay."

"Are you sure? I've never not slept before! What if I fall asleep now and something happens? And something always happens!" Sokka freaked out, his eyes wide.

"Every time we land, those girls are there. So we'll just have to keep flying." Katara shrugged casually.

"We can't keep flying forever," Aang said, sighing. "So, what's the plan?"

Toph slumped against the saddle. "Don't know... too tired to think…"

"I'm sure we'll come up with something after a short nap," Katara said, smiling.

"Yes... sleep…" Sokka said, relieved.

The two began nodding off before slowly rising into the air, wind blowing through their clothing as they lose altitude. Toph and Ka clutched the saddle tightly.

"What's going on?!" Toph asked frantically.

Aang held onto Appa's reins tightly. "Appa fell asleep!"

They all screamed as Aang went over to Appa and opened his eyes. "Wake up, buddy!" he cried urgently.

Appa's eyes slowly opened and widened. Having awakened, he resumed his normal flight, soaring just above the treetops. Toph, Ka, Sokka, Katara and Momo swayed to the side, still tightly gripping the saddle. Appa soared through the trees, colliding into and snapping several branches.

They suddenly fell on the ground. "Appa's exhausted…" Aang mumbled sleepily.

"Okay, we've put in a lot of distance between us and them. The plan right now is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep…" Sokka said, trudging across the ground with his sleeping bag.

"Of course, we could've gotten some sleep earlier, if Toph didn't have such issues!" Katara said angrily.

Toph opened her eyes and clutched the ground, shrieking, "WHAT!?"

"All right, all right, everyone's exhausted! Let's just get some rest."

Toph rose and faced Katara. "No, I want to hear what Katara has to say. You think I have issues?"

"I'm just saying. Maybe if you helped out earlier, we could have set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep and then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"You're blaming me for this?!"

Katara tossed aside her sleeping bag and gestures with her hands, challenging Toph to move closer. Aang jumped in between the two.

"No! No, she's not blaming you!" Aang said desperately.

"No, I'm blaming her!"

"Hey, I never asked you for diddly-doo-dah. I carry my own weight. Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's Sheddy over here!"

"What? You're blaming Appa?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, you want to know how they keep finding us?" She clutched a clump of Appa's sheddings and let them fly away. "He's leaving a trail everywhere we go!"

Ka thought for a moment. She was right.

"How dare you blame Appa! He saved your life three times today! If there's anyone to blame it's you! You're always talking about how you carry your own weight, but you're not. He is! Appa's carrying your weight. He never had a problem flying when it was just the four of us!" Aang cried angrily, jumping down to face her.

Toph stomped on the ground, catching her bag. "I'm out of here."

Sokka ran in front of her to stop her. "Wait!"

Toph used earthbending to shift Sokka off to the side, leaving him surprised.

"What did I just do? I can't believe I yelled at our earthbending teacher. Now she's gone!" Aang cried, slumping on the ground sorrowfully.

"I know. We're all just trying to get used to each other. And I was so mean to her," Katara said regretfully.

"Yeah, you two were pretty much jerks."

"Thanks, Sokka," Katara muttered sarcastically.

"No problem."

"The reason she was 'carrying her own weight' was because she's an only child. She never learned to help other people," Ka explained calmly.

"Hah. Easy for you to say. You were an only child too," Sokka said, smirking at her. Ka scratched the back of her head.

"Well, not really…"

"We need to find Toph and apologize," Katara said, dropping the subject.

"Okay, but what are we going to do about the tank full of dangerous ladies chasing us?" Sokka asked.

"I have a plan," Aang said.

The group cleaned up Appa in the river. " Toph was right. The fur was leaving a trail right to us. But now that he's clean, no more trail," Aang said, smiling.

"Are you sure he's okay to fly?"

"He'll be fine as long as we leave his saddle and all our stuff here. I'm going to use Appa's fur to make a fake trail to lead the tank off-course," he replied, picking up the bag of sheddings.

"I'm coming with you," Ka said, rising. She jumped on the top of Aang's glider as they took flight.

OOOOO

The two reached an abandoned town. Aang and Ka jumped off the glider and he dumped the rest of the sheddings out of the bag. The two walked down the empty road, peering from side to side.

Aang twirled his staff and the two sat cross-legged in the center.

OOOOO

Ka pointed when she saw Azula approached on her lizard. She closed in one the town.

"All right, you've caught up with us. Now, who are you and what do you want?" Aang asked as Azula jumped off.

"You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint," Azula said coolly, putting a hand over her left eye. "I must find the Avatar to restore my honor!" Ka pursed her lips. She was related to Zuko?

Aang remained silent. "It's okay, you can laugh. It's funny," Azula said in her normal voice.

"So what now?"

"Now? Now, it's over. You're tired and you have no place to go. You both can run, but I'll catch you."

"We're not running."

OOOOO

"Do you really want to fight me?" Azula asked smugly, smirking deviously.

"Yes, I really do," said a familiar voice. Ka widened her eyes and felt her heart race.

"Zuko!" she and Aang exclaimed in unison.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu," Azula taunted calmly.

Ka and Aang brought their hands to their mouths to repress their laughter. "'Zuzu'?" Ka asked quietly.

Back off, Azula! She—They're mine!"

Azula smirked at him and got into a fighting stance. "I'm not going anywhere."

The four looked at each other. Azula moved her arm forward, firing a blast of blue fire at Zuko, who conjured up a fire shield to deflect it. He fell backward onto a front porch. Aang and Ka, upon seeing this, expressed horror and attempted to flee the town on Aang's glider. The two tried to soar away, but Azula swung her arm downward, sending a steam of fire at the two. Aang turned over in mid-air, closing his glider. He twirled it to deflect the flames.

Azula ran along the beam of a rooftop, preparing to strike him and Ka. Aang who rolled over, grabbing hold of his glider just as Azula landed nimbly on the ground, sweeping around, sending a stream of fire his way. Azula rose and turned around. Aang and Ka land on the ground, in between the other two. Zuko fired a blast at Aang, who stepped to the side, managing to avoid the attack. Azula fired at the Avatar and his Tauln, missing.

After the four perform several unsuccessful attempts to land a blow, Aang and Ka ran past Azula, who sent another sweep of fire their way. The two tried to escape, but Azula was chasing after them and Zuko was firing blasts of fire. Aang rounded a bit and ran past Azula once more, this time heading toward the front of town. Azula fired another blast at him, only to miss. Azula fired several more blows, one of which Zuko managed to deflect. He fired a shot at Azula and misses.

Ka took a deep breath and used the water whip at Zuko, who turned to her in surprise.

Azula swung her arms about, sending attacks at her opponents. Zuko leapt into the air directly behind her and struck the ground, unleashing a firebending attack in the process. Azula fired a blast at Zuko, who ducked and attempted to knock her off her feet. He fired a blast her only for the princess to duck. She swept her arm upward, sending a stream of fire his way. Zuko leapt into the air to avoid the attack. Azula then turned around and fired at Aang and Ka. Aang leapt into the air and landed onto an upper outdoors level of a nearby building while Ka jumped to dodge it.

Azula ran up the stairwell leading to the upper level, forcing Aang to run through the open doorway. Azula gasped when she nearly stumbled in the building, which had no floor. She windmilled in an attempt to steady herself. She looked at Aang, who was perched atop an air ball, smiling gleefully and waving to her. After leaping about a few times, Azula managed to prop herself against the wall and regained her balance. Zuko suddenly appeared in the doorway. He had the misfortune of inaccurate timing and fell roughly onto the first level floor with a yell, sending up a cloud of dust.

The air ball Aang is riding suddenly began to dissipate. Azula nimbly sent a blast of fire at him. Aang leapt out of the way just as the air ball was terminated. He ran along the edges along the thin floor paneling and knocked Azula onto the first floor in the process. Azula landed nimbly onto the ground near Zuko, who was still recovering from his fall. Aang exited through the doorway, narrowly avoiding a blue fire blast sent by Azula.

He landed onto the ground beside Ka just as Azula burst through the wall of the building through the use of firebending. Zuko landed on the ground, unconscious. Ka looked over at Zuko before turning to Azula. She glanced at Aang. He fled and leapt out of the way just as Azula sent another blast at him.

Ka winced in pain as the flames licked her wrists, but she ignored the pain. Her Avatar was more important.

Aang began alternately jumping between two buildings, with Azula firing blasts at each spot he landed on. Aang finally reached the rooftop of the left building and scrambled to prop himself up.

Azula sent a blast of fire, slicing a portion of the rooftop off. Aang leapt off the crumbling portion onto another spot on the roof, only for Azula to repeat the same action. Aang scrambled to prop himself up, only for the ceiling to cave in. He landed on the ground inside the building, trapped beneath a pile of wooden planks. Azula entered the building through the doorway and sent two streams of fire along the sides of the wall. The blue fire spread around the perimeter of the room and turned an orange hue.

Azula smirked and held up one hand, two fingers pointing outward, her typical lightning generation pose. Katara suddenly appeared in the doorway and sent a water whip at Azula, guiding her hand off course. Katara bent the stream of water around her and sliced the wooden planks, thus freeing Aang.

"Katara!" Aang exclaimed happily. He looked around for Ka and frowned slightly.

Azula swiftly turned around and fired a blast at Katara, who raced out of the building along the porch. Azula followed her in hot pursuit, only to be halted by Sokka and Ka, who emerge from another doorway. Sokka swung his machete her way. Azula ducked while Sokka chased after her. Ka ran towards Aang.

He leapt over her just as Azula fired a blast at him. She turns around and blocks a water whip Ka sent at her. She fired a blast at Sokka and swung her arm outward to prolong the blast. Aang appeared behind her and dodged a fire blast. She suddenly fell over to the side; Toph appearing from an alleyway, having just shifted the ground beneath her feet.

"I thought you guys could use a little help."

"Thanks," Katara said happily.

Azula rose to her feet and began running away into the alley. She suddenly burst out as Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Ka, Zuko, and Iroh cornered her against the ruins of a stone wall.

"Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors, all working together. I'm done." Azula raised her hands in surrender. "I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

Ka looked over at Zuko. His glare softened when he glanced at her and then they resumed their fighting stances, blushes evident on their cheeks.

Azula smiled and took a step forward, firing a blast at Iroh, who got hit. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

Zuko yelled out in horror just as Ka gasped.

The remaining six turned to face Azula, five of them bending their respective elements and Sokka throwing his boomerang straight for her. The impact of the elements created a minor explosion, sending a thick cloud of smoke everywhere.

When the smoke cleared, Azula was gone. Ka whirled around to see Zuko kneeling over Iroh. "Ugggh!" he cried, clutching his head. He turned to look at them "Get away from us!"

"Zuko, I can help," Katara said, walking closer.

Zuko blasted an arc of fire over their heads. "Leave!" he screamed. Everyone, except Ka, scrambled towards Appa. She looked down at Iroh and quickly bended water from her pouch, kneeling over Iroh.

"I told you to leave!" Zuko yelled, looking up at her. Ka looked at him once and ignored him, healing Iroh's wound.

"Ka?" Aang asked, looking at her.

"Just go, Aang! Don't ask any questions or try to get me to come! Just go! I'll be fine!" Ka said without looking at him. Aang sighed and Appa flew away.

The glowing stopped and Ka sighed. "That's as much as I can do. He'll be fine. He just needs rest," she said.

Zuko blinked and looked down. "Um, t-thank you," he hesitated. Ka smiled warmly at him.

"You're welcome."


	22. Bitter Work

**A/N: I don't own anything, except my OCs. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW PEOPLE PUT THOSE DAMN LONG LINES!?**

After Ka had healed Iroh, she and Zuko carried him to a ruined building. Ka sighed and sat against a wall.

"What's that on your wrist?" Zuko asked, pointing to Ka's blistered, red wrist. She looked and it and winced.

"Oh. Right. I forgot about that. Azula burned me," she replied simply and took water from her pouch, using one of her hands to heal her wrist.

She winced for a moment, but then sighed in relief and placed the water back in her pouch to reserve it. Ka noticed Zuko staring at her and she blushed, running her fingers awkwardly over her newly-healed wrist.

Zuko coughed and looked away. "I like your hair," Ka said. Zuko turned back towards her and then looked up towards his hair.

"Um, thanks," he said awkwardly.

OOOOO

"Uncle... you were unconscious. Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack," Zuko said as Iroh slowly woke up.

"Somehow, that's not so surprising," Iroh said and then groan as he sat up carefully.

Zuko handed him a cup of tea that he made himself, without letting Ka help him. "I hope I made it the way you like it."

Iroh took a sip and grimaced. Ka bit her lip to hold back her laughter. "Good. That was very... uhhh... bracing!" Zuko handed him another cup, which he tossed out the window when Zuko wasn't looking.

"So Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her," Zuko said.

"No, she's crazy, and she needs to go down." Iroh stood up and Ka widened her eyes. Was she really that good at healing? "It's time to resume your training." Then he looked at Ka and smiled. "Hello, Miss Ka," he said Ka smiled and waved at him.

OOOOO

"Lightning is a pure form of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind," Iroh explained, pouring Zuko a cup of tea.

"I see. That's why we're drinking tea, to calm the mind."

"Oh yeah, good point! I mean, yes." Ka smirked and took a silent sip.

OOOOO

"There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance, creating lightning," Iroh said, stepping up and generating lightning. He shot it away from them.

"I'm ready to try it!" Zuko exclaimed.

"Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first," Iroh instructed.

Zuko took a deep breath. He tried to generate lightning, but instead an explosion launched him back. Iroh shook his head in disappointment as Ka stood up and sighed.

OOOOO

Another attempt by Zuko to generate lightning failed. "Why can't I do it? Instead of lightning it keeps blowing up in my face... like everything always does…" he said, looking down at the ground. (Most emo line ever)

"I was afraid this might happen. You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you," Iroh said, sighing.

"What turmoil?!"

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."

"But I don't feel any shame at all. I'm as proud as ever."

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame."

"Well, my life has been nothing but humbling lately." Ka looked at her wrist and then back up at Zuko. What had they been doing since the North Pole?

"I have another idea. I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself," Iroh said, smiling. Zuko smiled back at him.

"You can try as well, Miss Ka," Iroh said to Ka. She smiled nervously and shook her head.

"No, I'm supposed to learn earthbending first," she mumbled and drew pictures in the dirt.

OOOOO

"Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!" Iroh explained, drawing each insignia. Zuko blinked and said nothing. "Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

"Why are you telling me these things?"

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole," Iroh replied. Ka nodded in agreement.

"All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar and Tauln stuff." Ka looked up at the mention of the Avatar.

"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar and their Tauln so powerful. But it can make you more powerful, too. You see the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders," Iroh grinned. Ka smirked and drew a Fire Nation insignia in the ground.

OOOOO

"Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning," Iroh explained.

"You can teach me to redirect lightning?"

"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi. Only in my case it is more like a vast ocean!" Iroh laughed before continuing, "From the stomach, you direct it up again, and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion, to get a feel for the pathways' flow, like this."

The two practiced the motion for a moment. "Now, are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?" Iroh asked.

"I think so," Zuko replied, repeating the motion.

"Come on, you've got to feel the flow!" Iroh said, waving his arms. After a few minutes, Iroh smiled. "Excellent! You've got it!"

Ka walked into to get some water as they continued.

"Great, I'm ready to try it with real lightning!" Zuko exclaimed, causing Ka to stiffen.

"What, are you crazy? Lightning is very dangerous!" Iroh cried. Ka sighed and waterbended from the ground, where she had dropped the water when Zuko mentioned trying the movement with real lightning.

"I thought that was the point! You teaching me to protect myself from it!"

"Yeah! But I'm not going to shoot lightning at you! If you're lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all!"

"Well, if you won't help me, I'll find my own lightning!" Ka walked back out to see Zuko riding away.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Iroh sighed. "He is trying to redirect real lightning," she replied. Ka gasped softly.

"I'm going after him!" she cried.

OOOOO

Ka frantically cried up the mountain as the rain poured down.

"You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it, and now I can give it back! Come on, strike me! You've never held back before!" Zuko yelled at the top of his lungs.

No lightning struck. Tears streamed down Zuko's cheeks, and he yelled out in anger, throwing his hands in the air.

"Zuko!" Ka yelled, finally making it to the top. She quickly ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. "You _idiot_! Never do that again!" she cried, letting go and glaring at him.

She blushed as Zuko's hand went behind her neck and pulled her closer, their lips pressing together.


	23. AN 3: Urgent

**I'm sorry to say that I will be on hiatus for about a week or so. I was walking to the store and stopped at my best friend's house because it was on the way. Her mom let me in and I went into her room, and she was trying to drink bleach. So now I'm trying to convince her that life is worth living. So I'm basically lying to her. SORRY!**


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